AstraZeneca, Author Interviews, Diabetes, Kidney Disease / 24.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Naeem Khan MD Vice President at AstraZeneca  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: A pre-specified exploratory analysis of renal data from the DECLARE-TIMI 58 trial, the largest SGLT-2 inhibitor (SGLT-2i) cardiovascular outcomes trial (CVOT) conducted to date, showed that FARXIGA (dapagliflozin) reduced the composite of kidney function decline, end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or renal death by 47% in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Additionally, FARXIGA reduced the relative risk of a cardio-renal composite of kidney function decline, ESRD, or renal or cardiovascular (CV) death by 24% compared to placebo. The analysis evaluated 17,160 patients with type 2 diabetes and predominantly preserved renal function, irrespective of underlying atherosclerotic CV disease (ASCVD). (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Exercise - Fitness, JAMA, Lifestyle & Health, Weight Research / 05.03.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Giuseppe Pugliese, MD, PhD for the Italian Diabetes and Exercise Study 2 (IDES_2) Investigators Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine ‘‘La Sapienza’’ University Diabetes Unit, Sant’Andrea University Hospital Rome, Italy MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There is a growing epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes worldwide, which are causally related to the increasing prevalence of “physical inactivity”, i.e., an insufficient amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity according to current guidelines, and “sedentariness”, i.e., too many hours, especially if uninterrupted, spent in a sitting or reclined position.  These two unhealthy behaviors exert their detrimental effects independently of each other and are very common among people suffering from type 2 diabetes, who would therefore benefit from increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary time, as recommended by current guidelines. However, such a behavior change is generally difficult for a number of internal and external barriers and requires behavioral interventions targeting both physical activity and sedentary habits.  Unfortunately, there is no definitive evidence that this is indeed feasible and, particularly, that, if adopted, change in behavior can be maintained in the long term.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Pharmacology / 31.08.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Todd Hobbs, MD Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Novo Nordisk North America  MedicalResearch.com: Would you tell us a little about liraglutide? How does it work to control diabetes/blood sugar?  Response: Victoza® (liraglutide) is a human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010 to help lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. Victoza® is the #1 prescribed (GLP-1) receptor agonist. Victoza® is a non-insulin, once-a-day medication that helps lower blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes by increasing glucose-dependent insulin release, inhibiting glucagon secretion, and slowing gastric emptying. On August 25, the FDA approved a new indication for Victoza®, making it the only type 2 diabetes treatment approved to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular (CV) events, heart attack, stroke and CV death, in adults with type 2 diabetes and established CV disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes / 16.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Samiul Mostafa Honorary Clinical Lecturer Diabetes Trials Unit University of Oxford MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In managing people with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), international guidelines recommend individualisation of HbA1c (glucose) targets for long term maintenance; however, few data are available on the potential benefits that different blood sugar control targets might achieve. Therefore, there is a need to learn more about the incremental benefits of progressively lowering blood sugar levels. In this computer modelling study, we used the UKPDS Outcomes Model version 2.0 to estimate 10-year event rates for myocardial infarction (MI, heart attack), stroke, blindness and amputation by entering baseline risk factor variables (for example, weight, height, LDL-cholesterol, systolic blood pressure) taken from a for a current population of 5766 people with T2DM. Complication rates were estimated with HbA1c levels held constant at 10%, 9%, 8%, 7% and 6% for each individual whilst maintaining their risk factors at their baseline values. Standard statistical methods were used to calculate relative risk reductions of complications at each HbA1c level. (more…)