Exenatide, diabetes particularly effective new tool

A new glucose-lowering drug, made from an endogenous gut hormone, has several advantages over current treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes. This is shown by two PhD projects of the Diabetes Center VU University Medical Center on the effects and underlying mechanisms of the drug exenatide. On September 9 this is in VUmc substantial attention to an international symposium and a double promotion.

Two gut hormones, the patient once or twice daily administration could, in the Netherlands were already on the market. In June of this year, the twice daily exenatide agent approved in Europe in a new dosage form that is now only once a week need to be injected. Both doctoral studies show that exenatide compared with current treatment options, better engages the metabolic abnormalities that characterize type 2 diabetes: it lowers blood glucose by insulin secretion and production to increase glucagon levels to reduce the gastric emptying to slow. You experience less hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), and most patients are, on average 2.6 pounds. The latter in contrast to treatment with insulin and some other tablets, which patients is always coming.

Exenatide is very similar to the natural nutrient GLP-1, an intestinal hormone that plays an important role in the regulation of insulin production and release after a meal. There are a number of differences, and a longer duration of action of exenatide and GLP-1. It is the first time that an agent for the treatment of type 2 diabetes becomes available in a form of administration only once a week. Despite the various benefits will this gut hormone preparation in the Netherlands unfortunately only be reimbursed to people with type 2 diabetes who also play an obese (BMI> 35) and who also do not use insulin.

Diabetes
Diabetes is the fastest growing chronic disease. In the Netherlands affects nearly one million people this. Most of them have Type 2, related to age and obesity. If the current trend continues in 2025 will be approximately 1.3 million Dutch diabetes.

Worldwide, approximately 280 million people with diabetes or diabetes mellitus, especially type 2 diabetes, once called onset diabetes called. In the longer term, this disease can damage the eyes, kidneys but also the heart and blood vessels. Diabetes disease has a detrimental effect on the quality of life of patients and also have a shortened life expectancy in general. The cost of the disease and its complications worldwide are currently estimated at about 418 billion U.S. dollars, and it is expected that in 2030 will further increase to 516 billion U.S. dollars.