In a nutshell
This study compared the effectiveness and safety of two drugs in the treatment of type 2 diabetes patients with kidney disease.
Some background
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterized by elevated blood glucose. Treatment involves lowering blood glucose. HbA1c (average blood glucose over 3 months) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG, glucose levels after several hours without food) can be measured to estimate the effectiveness of drugs.
T2D patients are more susceptible to kidney disease. Treatment of T2D patients with kidney disease is more complex. This group is at a higher risk of developing hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) as a side effect of treatment.
Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors are drugs used to treat diabetes. Examples include vildagliptin (Xiliarx, Jalra, Galvus) and sitagliptin (Januvia). DPP-4 inhibitors are approved for treatment of T2D patients with kidney disease. However, few studies have compared different DPP-4 inhibitors.
Methods & findings
This study compared the effectiveness and safety of vildagliptin and sitagliptin in patients with T2D and severe kidney disease. 117 patients took part in the study. 64 patients were treated with vildagliptin and 53 were treated with sitagliptin. HbA1c and FPG were tested at the beginning of the study and after 24 weeks. Side effects related to drug treatment were recorded.
There was no significant difference in HbA1c reduction between the 2 groups. HbA1c was reduced by 0.54% in patients treated with vildagliptin and 0.56% in patients treated with sitagliptin. Similarly, there was no significant difference in FPG change between the two groups. FPG decreased by 0.47 mmol/l with vildagliptin. FPG increased by 0.16 mmol/l in patients taking sitagliptin.
Occurrence of more than one episode of hypoglycemia was similar in both groups, and occured in 16% of vildagliptin patients and 15% of sitagliptin patients. 51% of sitagliptin patients and 33% of vildagliptin patients experienced symptoms suggestive of hypoglycemia, such as dizziness and fatigue.
The bottom line
This study concluded that vildagliptin and sitagliptin are both similarly effective and safe treatments for patients with T2D and kidney disease.
The fine print
This study was conducted by Novartis, the producer of vildagliptin.
What’s next?
Consult your doctor if you are concerned about any of the side effects of vildagliptin or sitagliptin.
Published By :
Diabetologia
Date :
Jun 12, 2015
Dr. prescribed for vildaglipin, which gives pain in arms.(Jalra)
Shall I go for sitaglipin(Zitamet) ?
Please ask your physician about this. Thank you, Kathleen
Which one is best sitagliptan or vildagliptin
sitagliptin is FDA aprovel and vildagliptin is EU half life of sitagliptin is 12 hours and half life of vildagliptin is 2 to 3 hours
What do u mean by halve life? Is daily life spam in the body? Do u mean that the life vildaglipin is less?
Hello ,
I want to know the best one basing on that shelf life ? It can help .
Thank you
Both the drugs are equally effective and I do not see any difference.
Thanks a lot for this explanations
I am taking Sitagliptin 50/500 from 3 years,,Can I use Vidagliptin 50/500 instead of Sitagliptin
Girish, it’s important that your doctor prescribes the optimum medication for you, as this is not a substitute for medical advice. We would encourage you to consult your doctor.
So we will definitely get a Renal disease if we take both medicine is my understanding correct
This is certainly NOT the correct conclusion from this research. All the study participants already had kidney disease with severe renal impairment before entering the study. This study compared the two medications as potential treatments.
Is it safe to take jalra50 1 tablet in the morning;and janumet(50/500) in the evening?
please suggest
Both medication are from the same class with same effectiveness but one medicine sitagliptin has long duration of stay in body for action wheres other have short time. now after clinical assessment of individual patients. Your consultant decided which drugs could be best for you.
Is pioglitazone taken with vildaglaptin