This information was gathered from the DIRECT project, three other diabetes studies, and two randomised clinical trials that acted as a control for their data. To conduct their study, they first gathered available clinical and genetic information of over 4 500 adults with type 2 diabetes who consented to their information being used for research. “They seemed ripe to investigate this treatment response heterogeneity – some of which we reasoned must be genetic.” “Clinically we see very variable responses, with some people having amazing weight loss, some having great diabetes improvement, and some people having no benefit,” says Ewan Pearson, Professor of Diabetic Medicine at the University of Dundee and one of the authors of the paper. The research is part of the wider Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) DIRECT project, which analysed data from diabetic and pre-diabetic people to help find better drug treatments. In a recent paper published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, medical researchers at Sanofi and the University of Dundee were able to find which groups of people are most likely to benefit from GLP-1 agonist drugs based on their genetic phenotype. ![]() This is partly down to researchers not understanding exactly when it will interact well with the beta cells. However, their efficacy varies dramatically from person to person. GLP-1 agonist drugs have proven to be a popular ‘backup’ to Metformin because they also help patients lose weight while not damaging their heart. ![]() These agonists interact with the GLP-1 protein found in pancreatic beta cells, which then encourages them to produce more insulin. However, should that medication be ineffective, a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists are recommended in north America and Europe as a second or third-line of treatment. For most patients with type 2 diabetes, the most common medication used is Metformin, which lowers glucose production in the liver and increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin.
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