Latest Drug For Diabetes Lowers Blood Pressure, Weight and Blood Sugar

Latest Drug For Diabetes Lowers Blood Pressure, Weight and Blood Sugar

A new drug known as Liraglutide, for use in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, has been proven to enhance blood glucose control, reduce weight and even lower blood pressure with once-daily injections. Liraglutide maker Novo Nordisk funded a one-year study, led by Dr. Alan Garber of Baylor College of Medicine, of 746 patients having early type 2 diabetes. Participants received a once-daily injection in a dose of either 1.2 mg or 1.8 mg of Liraglutide or were given a once daily oral tablet of Amaryl (glimepiride), a widely used oral anti-diabetic drug. Patients who received Liraglutide were also given dummy pills while those receiving Amaryl were given injections of a placebo.

Before treatment, patients’ long-term blood sugar control scores (HbA1c scores) were recorded as ranging from 7 to 11 percent. After receiving treatment for one year, the HbA1c scores of patients receiving 1.8 mg of Liraglutide dropped by 1.14 percent with the scores of those taking 1.2 mg of Liraglutide dropping by 0.84 percent. HbA1c dropped 0.51 percent in patients receiving Amaryl.

The analysis found that 51 percent of patients getting 1.8 mg doses of Liraglutide achieved the American Diabetes Association (ADA) target HbA1c level of less than 7.0 percent and 43 percent of patients who received 1.2 mg doses of Liraglutide attained the ADA target HbA1c level. Only 28 percent of patients getting Amaryl reached the ADA target HbA1c level. During the first 16 weeks of the study, patients treated with Liraglutide experienced weight loss that was maintained after one-year, while the majority of those treated with Amaryl gained weight.

Nausea is a common side effect of Liraglutide, and caused six Liraglutide patients to drop out of the study due to vomiting. Patients who experienced nausea in excess of seven days lost 7.1 pounds while on the 1.2 mg dosage of Liraglutide, while those taking the 1.8 mg dosage lost 7.5 pounds. Those taking Amaryl lost 3.15 pounds. Patients with nausea for seven days or less lost 4.1 pounds on Liraglutide with the 1.2 mg dose, five pounds with the 1.8 mg dose, and gained 2.7 pounds on Amaryl. In addition, more Liraglutide patients experienced a decrease in blood pressure than Amaryl patients.

Liraglutide is an analog of a hormone called GLP-1, which stimulates insulin secretion and expands insulin-making beta cells in the pancreas. The most common side effects of the drug are nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which tend to subside after the first 30 days of treatment. Amaryl is a member of a commonly used class of drugs known as sulfonylureas, which also stimulate insulin secretion.

In The Lancet, Garber and colleagues write, "We conclude that Liraglutide is safe and effective as initial pharmacological therapy for type 2 diabetes mellitus and has advantages over other drugs used in monotherapy, such as greater reductions in weight, the number of events (of Blood Pressure, Weight and Blood Sugar), and systolic blood pressure. Although the findings could make an endorsement likely, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved Liraglutide.

Type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease. Many treatments lose their effectiveness against it later in the course of the disease. Researchers continue to search for treatments that will maintain their effectiveness in the fight against type 2 diabetes.

Novo Nordisk is a healthcare company with the most wide-ranging diabetes product group in the industry. The company has a history of 85 years of revolutionary advances and achievements in the care of diabetes.