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Good News for Byetta (Exenatide): Canadian Study Reports Once-Weekly Dose Is Better at BG Control Than Twice Daily
An experimental long-term version, injected once weekly (versus the twice-daily routine in current use), provides better control of blood sugar and is better tolerated by users’ gastrointestinal systems.
A Canadian clinical study has delivered a double dose of good news for proponents of exenatide (sold commercially as Byetta), a drug used by more than 700,000 Americans to control blood glucose, ease food cravings, and, incidentally, lose weight.
An experimental long-term version, injected once weekly (versus the twice-daily routine in current use), provides better control of blood sugar and is better tolerated by users' gastrointestinal systems.
Those are the conclusions of a study by Dr. Daniel Drucker and colleagues at the Mount Sinai Hospital and University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Drucker's study was presented at a recent meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Rome, and will be published in the British medical journal The Lancet.
The randomized trial followed 259 type 2 diabetes patients who had had diabetes an average of nearly seven years, tracking their A1c levels for 30 weeks. The mean A1c level for the group was 8.3% at the start of the study.
One group of 129 patients received a once-weekly 2 mg (milligram) injection of exenatide. The other group of 130 patients received exenatide injections of 10µg (micrograms) twice daily.
The patients on the once-weekly regimen saw their A1c levels fall to a mean of 6.4% (a -1.9% improvement), while those taking the drug twice daily saw their A1c's fall to 6.8% (a -1.5% improvement).
More patients in the once-weekly group, 77 percent, achieved the study target of an A1c of 7.0% or less, compared with 61 percent of those in the twice-daily group.
The percentages of those achieving A1c's of 6.5% or less were similar in both groups. The authors concluded, "Exenatide once weekly resulted in significantly greater improvements in glycemic control than exenatide given twice a day, with no increased risk of hypoglycemia and similar reductions in bodyweight."
The study is available online.
Categories: A1c Test, Blood Glucose, Blood Sugar, Byetta, Diabetes, Diabetes, Food, Losing weight, Low Blood Sugar, Medications Research, Type 2 Issues
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Diabetes Health is the essential resource for people living with diabetes- both newly diagnosed and experienced as well as the professionals who care for them. We provide balanced expert news and information on living healthfully with diabetes. Each issue includes cutting-edge editorial coverage of new products, research, treatment options, and meaningful lifestyle issues.
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Topics
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- Type 1 / 1.5 Diabetes
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Blood Glucose / Sugar
- High/Low Blood Sugar / Fast Acting Glucose
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- Type 2 Medications
- Hyperglycemia
- Hypoglycemia
Comments
I used byetta to treat my Type 2 diabetes for 11 months and did well for the first 10, then I began experiencing terrible nausea, after each injection. I also lost 30+ lbs which in turn helped decrease my BG. If I could take it once a week with the same results and no gastrointestinal side effects I would take it without doubt. I think it is a wonderful medication.
If your experiancing nausea try what I did. Inject in your butt! I also take when needed a walmart brand of a prilsec 150 (gold box)the walmart brand is right next to these in my store. Within 1/2 hour my nausea is gone with one of these. The injections in the butt are what I use mainly in the AM hours or when I first get up and eat my first meal, I work the graveyard shift.
If you are having nausea with Byetta, go buy some powdered ginger capsules at the local health food store or online and take 3 with each shot. Ginger is a natural antiemetic and also a bit of an anti-inflammatory. Works like a charm for me!
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