Injection drug wins diabetes challenge
Friday April 23rd, 2010
An injected drug for diabetes may be the best treatment for patients with hard-to-treat conditions - in spite of its side-effects, researchers said today.
New research compares the injected drug liraglutide with the tablet sitagliptin.
The two drugs work differently but are meant to achieve the same result of increasing insulin levels and reducing the hormone glucagon to prevent surges in blood sugar levels.
The study
in The Lancet involved some 450 patients for whom the standard drug, metformin,
had been unsuccessful.
The researchers studied levels of glycosylated haemoglobin (HbAlc), which indicates blood sugar control. They found that liraglutide was about 30 per cent more successful at reducing levels of HbAlc than sitagliptin - reducing levels by up to 1.5 per cent.
However the injected drug caused nausea in many more patients.
The researchers led by Dr Richard Pratley, of the University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, USA, say the difference is significant - because British research has shown a one per cent reduction in HbAlc is linked to a 21 per cent reduction in risk of death. It is also linked to a 37 per cent reduction in risk of complications from the disease.
They write: "These results suggest that the differences in HbA1c between liraglutide and sitagliptin that were recorded in our study are clinically relevant.
"These findings support the use of liraglutide as an effective agent to add to metformin."
Writing in the same journal two Belgian doctors say the tablet drug may prove more popular - as it is cheaper, easier to administer and causes less nausea.
The Lancet April 24 2010
Tags: Diabetes | Europe | North America | Pharmaceuticals
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