The drug slows gastric emptying of solids, which may be a biomarker of responsiveness
MONDAY, Oct. 2, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Liraglutide significantly increases weight loss in obese patients, likely by slowing gastric emptying of solids, according to a pilot study published online Sept. 25 in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
Houssam Halawi, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota , and colleagues compared the effects of liraglutide and placebo over 16 weeks on gastric motor functions, satiation, satiety, and weight in obese patients (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). Seventeen patients were randomized to the liraglutide group and 18 to the placebo group, and all patients received standardized nutritional and behavioral counseling. Both liraglutide and placebo were increased by 0.6 mg per day each week for five weeks and continued until week 16.
The researchers found that compared with placebo, liraglutide retarded gastric emptying of solids at five (P < 0.0001) and 16 (P = 0.025) weeks, caused significant weight loss at five weeks (P < 0.001) and 16 weeks (P < 0.001), and increased satiation, as measured by lowered maximum tolerated volume, at 16 weeks (P = 0.05) versus the placebo group. From five to 16 weeks of treatment there was tachyphylaxis to the gastric emptying effects of liraglutide. In the treatment group, nausea was the most common adverse event.
“Measurement of gastric emptying (e.g. at 5 weeks of treatment) may be a biomarker of responsiveness and may help select patients for prolonged treatment with this class of medication,” conclude the authors.
Some trial medication supplies were supplied by Novo Nordisk.
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