Liraglutide Improves Glycemic Control in Youth With Diabetes

Adding liraglutide to metformin therapy is associated with improved glycated hemoglobin levels in children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes, according to the results of a recent study.

While metformin is the most common treatment of choice in children with type 2 diabetes, early loss of glycemic control has been observed with metformin monotherapy, according to the study authors.

In order to examine whether the addition of liraglutide to metformin treatment was safe and effective in these patients, the researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind trial involving 135 patients between ages 10 and 17 years who were assigned to either receive subcutaneous liraglutide (up to 1.8 mg per day) or placebo for 26 weeks, followed by a 26-week open-label extension period.

At the 26-week analysis, the mean glycated hemoglobin level had decreased by 0.64 percentage points in the liraglutide group and increased by 0.42 percentage points in the placebo group. At 52 weeks, the estimated treatment difference increased from -1.06 percentage points to -1.30 percentage points.

“In children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes, liraglutide, at a dose of up to 1.8 mg per day (added to metformin, with or without basal insulin), was efficacious in improving glycemic control over 52 weeks. This efficacy came at the cost of an increased frequency of gastrointestinal adverse events.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Tamborlane WV, Barrientos-Perez M, Fainberg U, et al. Liraglutide in children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes [published online April 28, 2019]. NEJM. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1903822.