Ferdinand KC, et al. - In this 24-week study with 150 blacks with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension, researchers assessed the effects of empagliflozin, a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor. The participants underwent evaluations for glycohemoglobin (primary end point), office and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (BP), body weight, and safety. In a random fashion, once daily empagliflozin (10 mg for the first 4 weeks, then force-titrated to 25 mg until week 24) or placebo was administered to participants, following a 2-week, open-label, placebo run-in. A reduction of glycohemoglobin, body weight, and BP was achieved with empagliflozin in blacks with T2DM. They noted an increase in the impact of empagliflozin on BP from 12 to 24 weeks, indicating that a full antihypertensive impact takes ≥6 months to be fully achieved. Compared to standard antihypertensive monotherapies, a similar placebo-subtracted BP impact was evident at week 24, suggesting a possible beneficial impact of empagliflozin in this high-risk population.