Thanks to the great number of you who participated. As we put together the original survey our first thoughts were to find out what you wanted to know about GLP-1 analogs and what your impressions of the class of drugs are....
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We asked you "what were the most important things you wanted to know about this class of drugs?" and found that, overall, the top five, in order of preference, were....
Who the best candidates for GLP-1 treatment are
GLP-1's effect on beta cells in reducing apoptosis and regeneration
GLP-1's effect on homeostasis, decreasing beta-cell workload and improving beta-cell response
How GLP-1 enhances glucose-dependent insulin secretion
GLP-1's effect on insulin response to bring back 1st phase insulin response
When we looked at specific professional designations we found that Physicians were very much interested in learning more about who the best candidates are, while Pharmacists wanted to know more about how GLP-1 analogs can reduce beta cell death. Dietitians seemed to want to know more about glucose dependent insulin secretion.
Testing Your Knowledge – The Results Are In!
A great number of you (91%) knew that by the time a patient has diabetes incretin hormones are decreased by as much as 70% in patients with diabetes and that this plays an important part in glucose control.
Chart 1: Decrease in Incretin Hormone
Seventy-eight percent of you knew that GLP-1 agonists are FDA approved for patients with type 2 diabetes only; however, only 56% were aware that GLP-1 agonists are not indicated for use with insulin. When we break down the professions we find that Physicians are more likely to favor the use of GLP-1 analogs with insulin and this may be an indication of their desire to get patients to goal.
Chart 2: GLP-1 for type 2 patients only
Chart 3: GLP-1 indicated with insulin
Chart 4: GLP-1 lowers glucose levels more than DPP-IV inhibitors
Eighty-four percent of all those surveyed knew that GLP-1 agonists lower blood glucose to a greater degree than DPP-IV inhibitors, and when asked why else you might select an GLP-1 analog over a DPP-IV inhibitor, nearly 95% indicated that there are beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors.
Chart 5: GLP-1 has beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors
Chart 6: % Exenatide reduces HgbA1C
Chart 7: % DPP-IV inhibitors reduce HbA1c
When it comes to how well these products work the majority of our readers identified A1c reduction from GLP-1 analogs at 1.0 to 1.5% while DPP-IV inhibitors were most often rated as delivering a 0.5 to 0.8% in A1c lowering potential. This is indicative of the actual A1c reductions from each medication.
Next week we will look at your opinions and knowledge of how these valuable medications work.
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