Combination therapy reduces cardiovascular risk factors in people with type 2 diabetes
Publication date: Friday, 06 October 2017
Contributor(s): Jeremy Bray
In people with type 2 diabetes, Xultophy® (insulin degludec/liraglutide) significantly reduced a number of risk factors associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), compared to basal insulin.
A new post-hoc analysis of the DUAL II and DUAL V trials presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD 2017), shows that people treated with the insulin-liraglutide combination given by injection had significantly lower systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and LDL-C and significant weight loss compared to people treated with basal insulin (insulin glargine U100 or insulin degludec). A small but statistically significant increase in heart rate was also observed.
Professor Tina Vilsbøll, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Denmark said, "People with type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of a heart attack or stroke compared to the general population, so reducing this risk as much as possible should be a central goal of treatment. I am very pleased to see the beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk markers.”
| Cardiovascular markers | DUAL II treatment difference vs insulin | DUAL V treatment difference vs insulin |
|---|---|---|
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | -3.7 (-6.1, -1.3)* | -3.6 (-5.5,-1.6)* |
| Total cholesterol | 1 (0.9, 1.0)* | 1 (0.9, 1.0)* |
| LDL-cholesterol | 0.9 (0.9,1.0)* | 0.9 (0.9,1.0)* |
CVD is the principal cause of death and disability among people with type 2 diabetes globally, with approximately two-thirds of deaths in people with diabetes attributable to CVD. Treatments for type 2 diabetes should not only lower blood sugar levels but also aim to decrease CV risk.
More information
- Vilsbøll T BT, Bode BW, et al. IDegLira improves cardiovascular risk markers in patients with type 2 diabetes uncontrolled on basal insulin: analyses of DUAL II and DUAL V. Abstract at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Lisbon, Portugal; 11-15 September 2017.
- Buse JB, Vilsbøll T, Thurman J, et al. Contribution of liraglutide in the fixed-ratio combination of insulin degludec and liraglutide (IDegLira). Diabetes Care 2014:2926-2933.
- Lingvay I, Harris S, Jaeckel E, et al. IDegLira was effective across a range of dysglycaemia and BMI categories in the DUAL V randomized trial. Diabetes Obes Metab 2017. DOI: 10.1111/dom.13043.
- EMA. Xultophy® Summary of Product Characteristics. Available here >.
- NICE evidence summary (ESNM60). Type 2 diabetes: insulin degludec/liraglutide, published July 2015
