Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a progressive disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Even though progress have been accomplished in the management of
type 2 diabetes, current treatment preferences for patients with this disease still fall short to address
disease progression. With the present
therapy, glycaemic control remains suboptimal and are often associated with
weight gain and hypoglycaemia.
Glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an
incretin hormone secreted from the small intestine that lowers fasting and postprandial
glucose through multiple mechanisms including
glucose-dependent insulin secretion, reduction of
glucagon secretion, delaying gastric emptying and increased satiety.
Liraglutide, a human
glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogue is a treatment for T2DM that is administered as a once-daily
subcutaneous injection. The efficacy and tolerability of
liraglutide at doses of 0.6, 1.2, and 1.8 mg for T2DM, in combination with, and compared with, other T2DM treatments were investigated in the
Liraglutide Effect and Action in Diabetes (LEAD) Phase III clinical trial program. In the LEAD trial, treatment with
liraglutide was associated with substantial improvements in glycaemic control and low risk of hypoglycaemia. In addition
liraglutide significantly improved β-cell function, reduced systolic blood pressure (BP) and induced
weight loss. Overall,
liraglutide was well tolerated. Recent data on safety and efficacy of
liraglutide from real-life clinical practice settings also reiterate the better therapeutic profile of this molecule. Based on results from the LEAD programme, and real-life clinical experience,
liraglutide has been demonstrated as an effective therapeutic intervention even at the early stage of diabetes regardless of with what, it has been used.