June 12, 2021 : Issue #1140

TOP STORIES — Diabetes News and Research

Doubling the Dose of Semaglutide for Weight Loss Approved

Tirzepatide Outperforms Insulin Glargine in HbA1c and Weight Loss

Bariatric Surgery and Cardiovascular Disease

The approval of Wegovy^TM, a.k.a. Ozempic double dose, has been all over the news and Facebook. This once a week injectable GLP-1 receptor agonist has got everyone excited. I got 3 calls this week from friends who wanted to know when it would be for sale and for how much, and would their insurance pay for it. They also asked me if it was true they could lose 30 pounds in 6 weeks. In order to help you answer those kinds of questions our intern, Laura Martínez López, PharmD. Candidate 2021, LECOM, College of Pharmacy, has everything you could want to know in our Laterpay feature.

Now that this drug is approved for weight loss, what is the next thing on the horizon? Our other intern, Mary Gerges, PharmD Candidate 2022, Florida A&M University, College of Pharmacy, has the latest on the newest diabetes weight loss drug. Check out her feature on Tirzepatide for both weight loss and A1c lowering.

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We can make a difference!

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Dave Joffe

Editor-in-chief

See article 1.

The new approval of Wegovy™ is for a current medication, semaglutide, but more than doubling the standard dose for diabetes treatment. 

SURPASS-4 is a randomized controlled trial of tirzepatide once a week vs. insulin glargine once a day in type 2 diabetes patients with high cardiovascular risk.

A study aims to establish whether bariatric surgery can reduce adverse cardiovascular events. 

A study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that individuals who consumed at least two servings of fruit every day had a 36% lower risk of developing diabetes and more significant measures of insulin sensitivity than those who consumed less than half a serving of fruit. This work aimed to examine associations between intake of fruit types and 1) measures of glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and 2) diabetes at follow-up.

Based on data from 7,675 people in Australia, the findings showed that the beneficial effects on diabetes and insulin sensitivity were only associated with fruit intake, not with fruit juice intake. Among participants of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study, fruit and fruit juice intake was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire at baseline. Associations between fruit and fruit juice intake and 1) fasting plasma glucose, 2-hour post-load plasma glucose, updated homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance of β-cell function (HOMA2-%β), HOMA2 of insulin sensitivity (HOMA2-%S), and fasting insulin levels at baseline and 2) the presence of diabetes at follow-up (5 and 12 years) were assessed using restricted cubic splines in logistic and linear regression models.

The 7,675 Australians had a mean ± S.D. age of 54 ± 12 years at baseline. Total fruit intake was inversely associated with serum insulin and HOMA2-%β and positively associated with HOMA2-%S at baseline. Compared to participants with the lowest intakes (quartile 1), participants with moderate total fruit intakes (quartile 3) had 36% lower odds of having diabetes five years after adjusting for dietary and lifestyle confounders. From the results, it was concluded that a healthy diet including whole fruits, but not fruit juice, may play a role in mitigating T2DM risk, including fasting plasma glucose, 2-hr post-load plasma glucose, HOMA2 of HOMA2 of β-cell function (HOMA2-%β), HOMA2 of insulin sensitivity (HOMA2-%S), fasting insulin levels.

JCEM The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism June 2021

Diabetes in Control gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the following pharmacy doctoral candidates in the preparation of this week’s newsletters:

Louise Brown, PharmD Candidate, University of Colorado Skaaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Pierre Djemgou, PharmD Candidate Class of 2022, University of South Florida

Mary Gerges, PharmD Candidate 2022, Florida A&M University, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Laura Martínez López, PharmD. Candidate 2021, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, College of Pharmacy

Brenda Oppong, PharmD Candidate, LECOM School of Pharmacy 

Your Friends in Diabetes Care
Steve and Dave

Diabetes In Control
www.diabetesincontrol.com