Sitagliptin is effective and safe as add-on to insulin in patients with absolute insulin deficiency: a case series

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>It is generally believed that incretin-based therapies are effective in patients possessing certain levels of preserved β-cell function. So far, there are no reports that show the effectiveness of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors in patients who absolutely lack the capacity for endogenous insulin secretion.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>This report describes the efficacy of sitagliptin in three Japanese patients (a 91-year-old Japanese woman with type 1 diabetes, a 54-year-old Japanese man with type 2 diabetes and a 30-year-old Japanese man with features of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes) who had no detectable post-meal C-peptide levels. Although they were receiving intensive insulin therapy together with some oral hypoglycemic agents, their glycemic control remained poor. Sitagliptin was added to the ongoing therapeutic regimen to provide better glycemic control. Although these patients had mild hypoglycemia, effective reductions of hemoglobin A1c levels were observed without any adverse events in the liver and kidney during the following 24 weeks. Two of the patients were able to reduce their insulin doses, and one of the patients could discontinue one of the oral hypoglycemic agents. There was no weight gain or gastrointestinal complaints among the three patients. Post-meal C-peptide levels remained undetectable after sitagliptin treatment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This report demonstrates that sitagliptin is effective and safe as an add-on therapy to insulin in reducing blood glucose levels in patients who absolutely lack the capacity for endogenous insulin secretion. The improvement seen in glycemic control could not be due to enhanced endogenous insulin secretion, since post-meal C-peptide levels remained undetectable after sitagliptin treatment, but it could be a result of other factors (for example, suppression of glucagon levels). However, the glucagon-suppressive effect of sitagliptin is known to be rather weak and short-lived. Given this background, a novel hypothesis that the glycemic effects of this drug may be caused by mechanisms that are independent of the glucagon-like peptide 1 axis (extra-pancreatic effect) will be discussed.</p

Efficacy and safety of dulaglutide in patients with absolute insulin deficiency

Objective. While dulaglutide has been approved inpatients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in combination with insulin, it has not been studied in insulin-deficient patients, not whether they have type 1 diabetes (T1DM) or T2DM. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of dulaglutide 0.75 mg/once weekly (QW) in patients with absolute insulin deficiency (n=10)

Characterization of metabolic parameters in responders and nonresponders treated with canagliflozin monotherapy in drug-naive subjects with Type 2 diabetes

Objectives: The aim of this project is to compare the effect of canagliflozin monotherapy on metabolic parameters between responders and nonresponders with this drug. This study is a prospective, unblinded, observational study. Subjects and Methods: Drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus received only 50–100 mg/day canagliflozin for 3 months (n = 39). They were divided into two groups according to the novel “A1c index” to assess glycemic efficacies; responders (n = 24) and nonresponders (n = 15). Results: At baseline, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were significantly higher and homeostatic model assessment (HOMA)-B and body mass index (BMI) were significantly lower in responders. In both groups, similar, significant reductions of BMI (−1.9% with responder and −1.8% with nonresponder) and HOMA-R (−35.8% for responder and –31.5% for nonresponder) were observed. However, differences were seen with other parameters as follows: 1) responders: significant reductions of HbA1c (10.95%–8.44%), FBG (−29.6%) or free fatty acid (FFA) (−16.2%), and significant increases of HOMA-B (79.7%) were observed. 2) Nonresponders: significant reductions of serum uric acid (UA) (−8.6%) levels were seen. Significant correlations were observed between the baseline levels of serum UA and those of HOMA-B (R = 0.7259). However, this link became uncorrelated with the treatment with canagliflozin. Conclusions: These results suggest that (1) responders with canagliflozin have lower BMI and beta-cell function. Reductions of body weight with canagliflozin were not associated with its glycemic efficacy, (2) reduced FFA levels and enhanced insulin sensitivity/beta-cell function could be a potential mechanism of good glycemic efficacy of canagliflozin, and (3) serum UA might be involved in modulating beta-cell function during canagliflozin treatment