MedPath

DPP4inhibitors in Type 1 Diabetes

Phase 3
Completed
Conditions
Type 1 Diabetes
Hypoglycaemia
Interventions
Registration Number
NCT01922817
Lead Sponsor
University of Dundee
Brief Summary

A small, pilot, randomised, cross over trial that investigates the potential for DPPIVi therapy to reduce insulin requirements in type 1 diabetes was studied. We investigated whether this drug reduces daily insulin doses, leads to weight reduction, reduces blood glucose fluctuation and improves glucose control. Through reduction of blood glucose variability, we want investigated, whether it has the capability of improving the magnitude of epinephrine responses at 2.5mmol/L by performing a hyperinsulinaemic, hypoglycaemia clamp study after each arm. A successful outcome would then lead to an application for funds for a larger, multicentre intervention study. The benefits of this therapeutic advance are clear and this has the potential to make a dramatic improvement to the lives of people with type 1 diabetes in our community.

Detailed Description

Ninety years ago the discovery of insulin and its development as a drug revolutionized the management of type 1 diabetes, which until that point had almost inevitably proven fatal. However, very rapidly it was recognized that like all "wonder" drugs there were problems with insulin. Elliot Joslin, one of the pioneers of diabetes therapy described insulin as "...a potent preparation alike for evil and for good"(1922). There are two major reasons for this. Firstly, in non-diabetic individuals insulin produced by the pancreas acts directly on the liver, the major organ for regulating blood glucose levels. In contrast, people with type 1 diabetes inject insulin under the skin, and this is then absorbed into the circulation and much of it is degraded (\~50%) before it gets to the liver. This means that in order to act effectively in the liver a type 1 diabetic needs to inject at least double the amount of insulin. Many studies have now shown that high insulin levels lead to weight gain, accelerated blood vessel disease (atherosclerosis) and a higher risk of suffering low blood glucose (hypoglycaemia). A second major problem is that individuals with type 1 show high levels of the hormone, glucagon. Glucagon is also produced in the pancreas and is normally regulated by pancreatic insulin, so the loss of this effect in people with type 1 diabetes means they run high glucagon levels. This has been shown to increase blood glucose, particularly after a meal. It is because of this that the diabetes community has called for novel therapies that can reduce high insulin levels and high glucagon levels. A new class of drugs called dipeptidylpeptidase IV inhibitors (DPPIVi) are currently used to treat people with type 2 diabetes. DPPIV inhibition increases endogenous levels of glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1). These drugs have a number of actions but the most relevant to this application is that they directly suppress glucagon, induce satiety (i.e. reduce hunger and leads to a reduction in body weight) and indirectly reduce the need for high dose insulin injections. This makes them an ideal candidate drug as an insulin sparing or adjunct therapy in type 1 diabetes, but there is very limited data to date for this use.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
28
Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Read More
Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Read More

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
CROSSOVER
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
SaxagliptinSaxagliptin5mg once daily in addition to insulin therapy
PlaceboSaxagliptinCrossover Placebo once daily
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Magnitude of epinephrine release at 2.5mmol/LDuring hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia clamp
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Clinical research centre, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School

🇬🇧

Dundee, United Kingdom

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath