The drug Lyxumia (lixisenatide) has improved HbA1c and other health markers in a new trial of people with type 2 diabetes and low beta cell function.
Italian scientists found that the drug also helped reduce body weight and blood glucose levels over a 26-week period.
Lyxumia is a GLP-1 agonist which helps to lower blood glucose levels in part by suppressing the action of glucagon. It is a once-daily injectable drug which can be taken alongside other medications, such as metformin.
Researchers at the University of Parma tested the drug in a trial of 546 patients with type 2 diabetes whose diabetes was poorly controlled. Participants either received Lyxumia or other blood glucose-lowering medications.
The patients had their beta cell function measured before the study bega, as well as health markers such as HbA1c and body weight.
The effects of Lyxumia were shown to be similar in patients with higher and low beta cell function, with a similar proportion achieving an HbA1c of 53 mmol/mol (7%).
Similar reductions were also demonstrated for blood glucose levels after meals and at fasting periods during the day. However, those with lower beta cell function lost more weight.
“Our findings indicate that treatment with once-daily lixisenatide is effective in reducing hyperglycemia, is well-tolerated and associated with weight loss, even when beta cell function is low, and highlights the importance of the non-beta cell-mediated actions of lixisenatide in improving glycemic control,” said the researchers.
“There were no significant differences between cohorts. This indicates that lixisenatide can improve glycemic control irrespective of beta cell function, with neither of the cohorts being more at risk of hypoglycemia or weight gain, and further strengthens the rationale for the use of lixisenatide, even in patients with poor residual beta cell function.”
The findings were published online in Diabetes Metabolism.
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