Has pancreatic damage from glucagon suppressing diabetes drugs been underplayed? - BMJ

BMJ 2013; 346 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f3680 (Published 10 June 2013) Cite this as: BMJ 2013;346:f3680Article Related content Article metrics Deborah Cohen, investigations editor Author Affiliations dcohen@bmj.com Incretin mimetics have been called “the darlings of diabetes treatment” and they may soon also be licensed for treating obesity. But a BMJ investigation has found growing safety concerns linked to the drugs’ mechanism of action. Deborah Cohenasks why patients and doctors have not been told. They’ve been touted as the “new darlings of diabetes treatment”—the biggest breakthrough since the discovery of insulin nearly a hundred years before. The so called incretin therapies—glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists and dipeptidylpeptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors—looked as if they might change the face of type 2 diabetes. Their dual action of switching on insulin and suppressing glucagon to help control blood glucose was the ultimate in diabetes care. The promise of a Nobel prize for the investigators loomed large. Scientists had discovered a treatment that could potentially modify disease progression. Studies in experimental animals showed that GLP-1 caused a proliferation in new insulin producing β cells. The hope was that these new cells might be able to replace those that died off in the course of human diabetes. Nor did the promise end there. GLP-1 acts on th...
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