Diabetes News March 11th 2011

Research Strategy
A new research strategy to guide Diabetes UK’s investment in research for the next five years. ‘Working together towards a future without diabetes and its complications’ was developed by (Diabetes UK’s Science and Research Advisory Group)

Measurement of fasting ketonuria and capillary blood glucose after main meals in women with gestational diabetes mellitus: How well is the metabolic picture captured?
A substantial proportion of metabolic abnormalities in GDM women are not detected with a monitoring program that measures only fasting ketonuria and postprandial CBG after main meals (Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research)

The Relationship Between ß-Cell Function and Glycated Hemoglobin
The results of the current study demonstrate that in Mexican Americans, as HbA1c increases >6.0%, both insulin sensitivity and ß-cell function decrease markedly. Performing an OGTT is pivotal for accurate identification of subjects with impaired ß-cell function (Diabetes Care)

Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4) expression in human and murine pancreatic beta-cells affects cell viability and insulin homeostasis
Taken together, our data indicate a novel function for TLR4 as a molecule capable of altering homeostasis of the pancreatic beta-cells (BMC Immunology)

Insulin degludec, an ultra-long-acting basal insulin, once a day or three times a week versus insulin glargine once a day in patients with type 2 diabetes: a 16-week, randomised, open-label, phase 2 trial
Insulin degludec provides comparable glycaemic control to insulin glargine without additional adverse events and might reduce dosing frequency due to its ultra-long action profile (The Lancet)

Incretin-Related Therapies in Type 2 Diabetes: A Practical Overview
With regard to incretin-related therapies, some patients with type 2 diabetes may benefit more from their use than others, whereas their use in a small subset of patients with type 2 diabetes should be avoided (Diabetes Spectrum)

ONGLYZA Becomes the First DPP-4 Inhibitor Available for Use in Europe
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca announce that the European Commission has approved a label update for ONGLYZA(R) (saxagliptin) in the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes who have moderate or severe renal impairment (PharmaLive)

Exenatide Once Monthly Showed Positive Results in Phase 2 Study
Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly and Company and Alkermes, Inc. announce positive results from a phase 2 study evaluating the effects of a once-monthly injectable suspension formulation of exenatide on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes (Lilly)

DURATION-6 Top-Line Study Results Announced
Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly and Company and Alkermes, announce top-line results from DURATION-6, a head-to-head study designed to compare weekly BYDUREON™ (exenatide extended-release for injectable suspension), an investigational type 2 diabetes therapy, to daily Victoza® (liraglutide (rDNA origin) injection) (Lilly)

Positive Results from Phase 2 Study of Atrasentan for Treatment of Diabetic Kidney Disease Published
Results from a Phase 2, 8-week dose-ranging study using low doses of atrasentan in patients with diabetic kidney disease were published this week in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (Abbott)

Olmesartan for the Delay or Prevention of Microalbuminuria in Type 2 Diabetes
Olmesartan was associated with a delayed onset of microalbuminuria, even though blood-pressure control in both groups was excellent according to current standards. The higher rate of fatal cardiovascular events with olmesartan among patients with preexisting coronary heart disease is of concern (NEJM)

FDA accepts new drug application for investigational compound Dapagliflozin
AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review a New Drug Application (NDA) for dapagliflozin, an investigational compound for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (World Pharma News)