In a nutshell
This study investigated the suitability of IDegLira for treating patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. The authors concluded that using IDegLira was safe and effective at reducing blood-sugar levels.
Some background
IDegLira is an injectable, fixed-ratio combination of basal insulin (degludec) and a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonsist (liraglutide). IDegLira is administered once daily, independent of meals, as dose steps. One dose step (SD) contains 1 unit of insulin degludec and 0.036 mg of liraglutide. The maximum daily dose is 50 DS. It has been shown to reduce blood-glucose levels, however mostly in highly controlled experimental settings. The effectiveness of IDegLira at reducing blood-sugar levels among patients in real-world settings is unclear.
Methods & findings
This study investigated the effectivenss of IDegLira at controlling the blood-sugar levels of T2D patients receiving their prescription from a doctor. The medical records of 611 adults with T2D were examined. All patients included had started IDegLira at least six months previously. Before IDegLira, the patients had varying treatments prescribed for managing their T2D.
After six months, patients reduced their HbA1c (average blood glucose level over 3 months) by an average of 0.9%. Patients receiving multiple daily injections also reduced their body by 0.7 kg. 32% of patients were able to stop other diabetes treatments while treated with IDegLira. Use of IDegLira reduced the incidence of hypoglycemia (dangerously low blood glucose) by 82% after six months.
The bottom line
The authors concluded that, after six months, moderate doses of IDegLira reduced blood-sugar levels in patients with uncontrolled T2D.
The fine print
The examination of medical records is not the most reliable way to investigate the effectiveness of a treatment. Further studies are therefore needed to confirm these results.
Published By :
Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism
Date :
Dec 05, 2017
