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Glucose-lowering therapies in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Prattichizzo, F, La Sala, L, Rydén, L, Marx, N, Ferrini, M, Valensi, P, Ceriello, A
European journal of preventive cardiology. 2019;(2_suppl):73-80
Abstract
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a major risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease, and many patients with diabetes have prevalent cardiovascular complications. Recent cardiovascular outcome clinical trials suggest that certain new glucose-lowering drugs are accompanied by additional cardioprotective properties. Indeed, selected glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists have a proved cardiovascular benefit in terms of a reduced incidence of ischaemic events, while sodium/glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors have also shown significant protection, with a striking effect on heart failure and renal endpoints. These findings have been integrated in recent guidelines which now recommend prescribing (when initial metformin monotherapy fails) a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist or a sodium/glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor with clinical trial-confirmed benefit in patients with diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and a sodium/glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor in such patients with heart failure or chronic kidney disease at initial stages. Furthermore, the new 2019 European Society of Cardiology guidelines in collaboration with the European Association for the Study of Diabetes recommend a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist or a sodium/glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor in treatment-naive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with pre-existing cardiovascular disease or at high cardiovascular risk. Future research will disentangle the mechanisms underpinning these beneficial effects and will also establish to what extent these results are generalisable to the whole diabetes population. In the meantime, available evidence should prompt a wide diffusion of these two classes of drugs among patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Here, we briefly summarise recent findings emerging from cardiovascular outcome clinical trials, discuss their impact on treatment algorithms and propose new possible approaches to improve our knowledge further regarding the cardiovascular effect of glucose-lowering medications.
2.
Use of fast-acting insulin aspart in insulin pump therapy in clinical practice.
Evans, M, Ceriello, A, Danne, T, De Block, C, DeVries, JH, Lind, M, Mathieu, C, Nørgaard, K, Renard, E, Wilmot, EG
Diabetes, obesity & metabolism. 2019;(9):2039-2047
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Abstract
Fast-acting insulin aspart (faster aspart) is a novel formulation of insulin aspart (IAsp) containing the additional excipients niacinamide and L-arginine. The improved pharmacological profile and greater early glucose-lowering action of faster aspart compared with IAsp suggests that faster aspart may be advantageous for people with diabetes using continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII). The recent onset 5 trial was the first to evaluate the efficacy and safety of an ultra-fast-acting insulin in CSII therapy in a large number of participants with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Non-inferiority of faster aspart to IAsp in terms of change from baseline in HbA1c was confirmed, with an estimated treatment difference (ETD) of 0.09% (95% CI, 0.01; 0.17; P < 0.001 for non-inferiority [0.4% margin]). Faster aspart was superior to IAsp in terms of change from baseline in 1-hour post-prandial glucose (PPG) increment after a meal test (ETD [95% CI], -0.91 mmol/L [-1.43; -0.39]; P = 0.001), with statistically significant improvements also at 30 minutes and 2 hours. The overall rate of severe or blood glucose-confirmed hypoglycaemia was not statistically significantly different between treatments, with an estimated rate ratio of 1.00 (95% CI, 0.85; 1.16). A numerical imbalance in severe hypoglycaemic episodes between faster aspart and IAsp was seen in the treatment (21 vs 7) and the 4-week run-in periods (4 vs 0). Experience from clinical practice indicates that all pump settings should be reviewed when initiating faster aspart with CSII, and that the use of continuous glucose monitoring or flash glucose monitoring, along with a good understanding of meal content and bolus type, may also facilitate optimal use. This review summarizes the available clinical evidence for faster aspart administered via CSII and highlights practical considerations based on clinical experience that may help healthcare providers and individuals with T1D successfully initiate and adjust faster aspart with CSII.