Top in endocrinology: Incretin-based therapies; updated diabetes guidance
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Incretin-based therapies, which were developed for the treatment of diabetes and obesity because of their ability to target defects that are not addressed by other medications, are continuing to evolve.
These therapies can induce weight loss for people with type 2 diabetes and obesity. Clinical trials have demonstrated that longer-acting GLP-1 receptor agonists and oral formulations are effective at lowering HbA1c.
“The treatment of obesity is evolving,” Richard E. Pratley, MD, a Healio | Endocrine Today Co-editor and the Samuel E. Crockett chair in diabetes research and medical director at AdventHealth Diabetes Institute, said at the World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease. “Our usual obesity medications were on the order of 3% to 17% [weight loss] and we’re now in the 20% to 25% range.”
More incretin-based medications, including single agents, combination drugs, dual agonists and triple agonists, are in development. It was the top story in endocrinology last week.
In another top story, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) published its 2024 Standards of Care, a comprehensive and evidence-based guideline for managing type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes and prediabetes. Updates to this year’s Standards of Care include recommendations emphasizing obesity management and screening for CVD.
“In the recommendations, we talk about screening individuals, particularly first-degree relatives of someone with type 1 diabetes, that we know are at higher risk of developing type 1 [diabetes],” Robert Gabbay, MD, PhD, chief scientific and medical officer for the ADA, said during a press conference. “The message here is if we can catch individuals early, there are now FDA-approved treatments that can delay the development of type 1 diabetes, and I suspect there will be more in the not-too-distant future.”
Read these and more top stories in endocrinology below:
Incretin-based medications transforming treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity
The development of incretin-based molecules has led to therapies that can induce greater reductions in HbA1c and body weight for people with type 2 diabetes and obesity than other classes of medication, according to a speaker. Read more.
Obesity management, teplizumab guidance among updates in ADA 2024 Standards of Care
New guidance on obesity management and CVD screening for people with diabetes are among the updates in the American Diabetes Association’s 2024 Standards of Care. Read more.
Women with prediabetes may benefit from earlier intervention to prevent CVD
Compared with men, women with prediabetes may benefit from earlier intervention to prevent CVD, according to a presenter at the World Congress Insulin Resistance Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease Conference. Read more.
Once-daily JAK inhibitor helps preserve beta-cell function in type 1 diabetes
A Janus kinase inhibitor may preserve beta-cell function for children and young adults recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, according to findings published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Read more.
Novel therapies targeting bile acid-triggered pathways may benefit children with NASH
Medications that target bile acid-triggered pathways and combination therapies could be the key for treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis for young people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, an expert said. Read more.