The cardiovascular protective effect achieved by liraglutide used on type 2 diabetics is apparently not dependent on co-medication nor on the reduced rate of severe hypoglycaemia when using the GLP-1 analogue. Is an explanation for this going to be provided by the speakers?
The results of the LEADER study were first published in 2016. 9,340 type-2 diabetics with cardiovascular disease or risk factors received either liraglutide or a placebo, in addition to standard therapy over 5 years.
Liraglutide significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular death by 22%, of microvascular events by 16%, risk of fatal heart attacks by 12% and non-lethal stroke by 11%.
The cardiovascular protective effect of liraglutide in type 2 diabetics apparently works without dependence on co-medication nor by reducing the rate of severe hypoglycaemia through the use of the tGLP-1 analogue. These and other post-hoc results have already been presented at the US Diabetic Congress 2017.
Out of the audience came questions about whether the positive liraglutide outcomes might have emerged through the presence of a disadvantage in the placebo group, via increased use of insulin or insulin secretagogues. The speakers led by Prof. Dr. Lars Ryden expressed agreement in the conclusion that the reduction of the event rate should be treated as being independent of insulin therapy.
An explanation for the cardiovascular benefit of liraglutide came from none of the speakers; before anything else, the essential point to make is that it works, they say.
For every day practice this also means that: patients who have particular high cardiovascular risk would profit from liraglutide, among these in particular the subgroup of patients who have had a heart attack and have limited renal function.
Friendly greetings from Klaudia Gavrilis.