Immediate Impact of Switching from Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 (DPP4) Inhibitors to Low-Dose (0.3 mg) Liraglutide on Glucose Profiles: A Retrospective Observational Study.

INTRODUCTION: As treatment agents for diabetes, liraglutide is a long-acting glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist, and dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitors are widely used because of their safety and tolerability. Regular treatment with liraglutide has been reported to significantly reduce blood glucose levels, but the impact of low-dose (0.3 mg) liraglutide on blood glucose levels immediately after treatment switching from a DPP4 inhibitor remains unknown. METHODS: We conducted a single-arm, retrospective, observational study in 55 inpatients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) to investigate the changes (Δ) in their blood glucose levels at six time points (6-point) from the day before (day -1) to the day after (day 1) by switching the antidiabetic treatment from a DPP4 inhibitor to liraglutide 0.3 mg (low-dose liraglutide) once daily. We also attempted to identify factors associated with the blood glucose-lowering effects of liraglutide. RESULTS: The median values of the changes in fasting, preprandial, and postprandial blood glucose levels and the fluctuations in the blood glucose levels expressed as the standard deviation of the 6-point blood glucose levels were significantly lower on day 1 than on day -1 (P < 0.05, P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, P < 0.01, respectively); there were no cases of severe hypoglycemia. The Δ blood glucose levels were not associated with the baseline serum hemoglobin A1c values or with any markers of the insulin secreting capacity. There were no associations between the previously used blood glucose-lowering drug and the Δ blood glucose levels. CONCLUSION: Switching from a DPP4 inhibitor to low-dose (0.3 mg) liraglutide once daily significantly reduced the blood glucose levels and excursions of the blood glucose levels even from the very day after the treatment switch, with no serious adverse events.

Immediate Glucose-Lowering Effect After the First Administration of Dulaglutide: A Retrospective, Single-Center, Observational Study.

INTRODUCTION: Dulaglutide is a long-acting glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist that is administered once weekly for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. However, the immediate glucose-lowering effect of dulaglutide after the first administration and the factors affecting the efficacy of the drug remain unclear. METHODS: This study was a retrospective and observational study of 80 subjects with type 2 diabetes conducted in a hospitalized setting. The changes (Δ) in the blood glucose (BG) levels at six time points (6-point BG levels) from the baseline (day - 1) to the day after the first administration of 0.75 mg of dulaglutide (day 1) were evaluated. The associations of the Δ 6-point BG levels with the patients' characteristics and laboratory data were also analyzed. RESULTS: Significant reduction of the fasting BG, preprandial BG, postprandial BG, and standard deviation (SD) of the 6-point BG levels was observed on day 1 as compared to day - 1 (P < 0.0001) and the reduced BG levels were maintained throughout the remaining observation period of 5 days. The baseline serum hemoglobin A1c and glycoalbumin levels were positively correlated with the reduction of the fasting BG. The Δ BG levels were not related to the parameters of insulin-secreting capacity. Insulin treatment was positively associated with the reduction of the 6-point BG levels. Patients without cerebrovascular disease and patients without diabetic retinopathy showed greater improvements of the fasting BG and SD of the 6-point BG levels, respectively. Urinary microalbumin level was positively correlated with improvements of the 6-point BG levels. Dulaglutide reduced the BG levels, irrespective of the previously used class of antidiabetic medication(s). CONCLUSION: Dulaglutide achieved reduction in glucose level within 24 h of the first injection. The improvement in the BG levels remained stable for a week in the hospitalized clinical setting.

Predicting the ability of elderly diabetes patients to acquire the insulin self-injection technique based on the number of animal names recalled.

AIMS/INTRODUCTION: To our knowledge, no studies have reported that cognitive tests can be used to evaluate whether or not patients can acquire the insulin self-injection technique. We investigated whether or not the number of animal names recalled in 1 min by elderly diabetes patients could be used as a predictor of the patients' ability to acquire the insulin self-injection technique within 1 week. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 57 inpatients with type 2 diabetes aged >60 years who were starting insulin therapy. We carried out the Mini-Mental State Examination and verbal fluency tests, which included recalling animal names and common nouns starting with the letters 'a,' 'ka' and 'shi' (Japanese letters). We used 12 checkpoints for insulin self-injection to judge the patients' levels of acquisition of the technique. The most predictive cognitive test was determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: In the present study, multivariate logistic analysis showed that the number of animal names recalled was the most reliable predictor of the ability to acquire the insulin self-injection technique within 1 week. A figure of 11 animal names predicted a successful acquisition, with a sensitivity of 73% and a specificity of 91% being observed (area under the curve 0.87, 95% confidence interval 0.76-0.97, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The number of animal names recalled in 1 min was the most useful indicator of the ability of elderly diabetes patients to learn to manage insulin self-injection therapy within 1 week. The cut-off value was 11 animal names.