Addition of pramlintide to insulin therapy lowers HbA1c in conjunction with weight loss in patients with type 2 diabetes approaching glycaemic targets.
Two long-term, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials in insulin-using patients with type 2 diabetes, spanning a wide range of baseline glycaemic control, have shown that the addition of pramlintide, an analogue of the beta-cell hormone amylin, to pre-existing insulin regimens results in reductions in HbA1c that are accompanied by weight loss. To assess whether this profile of pramlintide is observed in patients approaching, but not yet reaching, glycaemic targets, we conducted a pooled post hoc analysis of the two trials, including all patients with an entry HbA1c between 7.0 and 8.5%. Within this subset of patients, 80 were treated with placebo + insulin [baseline HbA1c 8.0 +/- 0.3%, weight 87.3 +/- 19.3 kg (mean +/- s.d.)] and 86 with pramlintide (120 micro g bid) + insulin [HbA1c 8.0 +/- 0.4%, weight 92.5 +/- 20.4 kg (mean +/- s.d.)]. Endpoints included changes from baseline to Week 26 in HbA1c, body weight, and the event rate of severe hypoglycaemia. Adjunctive therapy with pramlintide resulted in significant reductions in both HbA1c and body weight from baseline to Week 26 (-0.43% and -2.0 kg differences from placebo, respectively, both p < 0.001). These changes were achieved without a concomitant increase in the overall rate of severe hypoglycaemic events (0.13 pramlintide vs. 0.19 placebo, events/patient year of exposure). The data from this post hoc analysis indicate that the addition of pramlintide to insulin therapy may help patients with type 2 diabetes who are approaching, but not yet reaching, glycaemic targets to achieve further reductions in HbA1c without concomitant weight gain and increased risk of severe hypoglycaemia.