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October 18, 2005

Studies Support Intensive Therapy

Two decent studies were reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine that concluded treatment with inhaled insulin or exenatide, an injectable drug, can improve diabetes management in individuals with Type 2 diabetes.

In one study, Dr. Julio Rosenstock, from the Dallas Diabetes and Endocrine Center in Texas, and colleagues assessed the effect of inhaled insulin on sugar control in 309 patients when substituted for or added to standard oral medications. The subjects were followed for 12 weeks.

Compared with continued oral therapy alone, a significant improvement in sugar control was achieved by substituting or adding inhaled insulin therapy, the investigators report.

Inhaled insulin therapy was more likely than oral therapy alone to produce excessively low sugar levels. Treatment was also associated with mild weight gain and mild cough.

In the second study, Dr. Robert J. Heine, from VU University Medical Center in the Netherlands, compared the sugar-lowering effects of exenatide and insulin glargine in 551 patients with type 2 diabetes who had poor sugar control with oral medications.

At 26-week follow-up, exenatide and insulin glargine were associated with similar improvements in sugar control.

Treatment with exenatide was tied to a drop in body weight of 5 lbs., while insulin glargine was linked to 4 lbs. of weight gain. Gastrointestinal side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, were much more common with exenatide than with insulin glargine.

Posted by Diabetologica at October 18, 2005 12:59 PM