FRIDAY, April 8, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), addition of 1.2 and 1.8 mg of liraglutide to insulin over a 12-week period is associated with a modest reduction in weekly mean glucose levels, according to a study published online April 5 in Diabetes Care.
Nitesh D. Kuhadiya, M.D., M.P.H., from State University of New York at Buffalo, and colleagues randomized 72 patients with T1DM to receive placebo (18 patients) and 0.6, 1.2, and 1.8 mg of liraglutide (54 patients) daily for 12 weeks.
The researchers observed a significant mean weekly reduction in average blood glucose in the 1.2- and 1.8-mg groups (P < 0.0001); the average blood glucose remained unchanged in the 0.6-mg and placebo groups. Hemoglobin A1c was reduced significantly in the 1.2-mg group (P < 0.01), but not in the 1.8- or 0.6-mg groups compared with placebo. In the 1.2-mg group only, glycemic variability was significantly reduced (P < 0.01). In the 1.2-mg and 1.8-mg groups, total daily insulin dose decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Weight loss was 5 ± 1 kg in the 1.2- and 1.8-mg groups (P < 0.05) and 2.7 ± 0.6 kg (P < 0.01) in the 0.6-mg group, compared with none in the placebo group. Higher gastrointestinal adverse events were seen with liraglutide (P < 0.05).
"These findings do not justify the use of liraglutide in all patients with type 1 diabetes," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to biopharmaceutical companies, including Novo Nordisk, which manufactures liraglutide and funded the study.
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