Addition of a Glucagon-like Peptide-1 to a Calorie Restricted Diet Augments Weight Loss and Decreases Risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease.

The goal of this study is to evaluate the hypothesis that the addition of liraglutide, a long-acting glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogue, to a calorie-restricted diet will lead to greater weight loss than will a calorie-restricted diet alone in subjects who are older (50 to 60 years of age), overweight/obese, and prediabetic. These individuals have been selected for study because they are at greatly increased risk to develop type 2 diabetes (2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD), and it is hypothesized that the addition of liraglutide to a calorie-restricted diet will significantly decrease risk of these adverse outcomes.

There is considerable evidence that GLP-I compounds, including liraglutide, improve glycemic control in patients with manifest 2DM. However, there is relatively little information as to the potential utility of these compounds in nondiabetic individual at greatly increased risk of 2DM and CVD. This research proposal is aimed at providing some of this information by quantifying the effects of liraglutide, a long-acting GLP-1 analogue, on weight loss, insulin secretion, insulin action, and multiple CVD risk factors in a very high risk group-older, overweight/obese, prediabetic individuals. Furthermore, by using specific methods, not surrogate estimates, and avoiding the confounding effects of glucotoxicity, it will be possible to gain new insights into the effects of GLP-1 on insulin secretion and insulin action.