Daily, injected medication shows ‘encouraging’ results in international trial
WEDNESDAY, June 15, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Liraglutide (Victoza) cuts the risk of heart attack and stroke in type 2 diabetes patients, according to a study published online June 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The research was published to coincide with the American Diabetes Association’s 76th Scientific Sessions, held from June 10 to 14 in New Orleans.
The study included 9,340 adults from 32 countries who had type 2 diabetes and a high risk of cardiovascular disease. About half took liraglutide, while the other half took an inactive placebo.
Tracking patients for three years, the researchers found that, compared with patients in the placebo group, patients who took liraglutide had a 13 percent lower risk of heart attack or stroke. They also had a 22 percent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, a 15 percent lower risk of death from any cause, and a 22 percent lower risk of new evidence of advanced kidney disease. Some patients did discontinue the drug due to gastrointestinal symptoms.
“I’ve been excited about liraglutide for a long time because I think it’s unique,” senior author John Buse, M.D., Ph.D., of the Diabetes Care Center at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, said in a university news release. “This is the first diabetes drug that has shown across-the-board benefits for cardiovascular diseases, and this suggests it plays a role in treating atherosclerosis.”
The study was funded by Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of liraglutide.
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