Orlistat augments postprandial increases in glucagon-like peptide 1 in obese type 2 diabetic patients

What Was Tested

This controlled clinical trial looks at Glucagon.

Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) are gut hormones that are secreted in response to food intake, and they both stimulate insulin secretion.

Who Took Part

The study group was 2 patients.

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

A total of 29 type 2 diabetic patients, who were not taking insulin or alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, were enrolled in the study.

At baseline and 60 min after the meal, blood samples were obtained for the measurement of GLP-1, GIP, insulin, C-peptide, triglycerides, free fatty acids, and glucose.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as single-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover and pilot.

In this single-blind Glucagon study one party knew the assignments and the other did not.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Glucagon could be set against what happens without it.

In the crossover set-up each of the patients took both Glucagon and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

It is described as a pilot, a small early test of whether a larger Glucagon study would be practical.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Anti-Obesity Agents, Diabetes Mellitus, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide, Glucagon, Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 and Insulin.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a single-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study of Glucagon in 2 patients.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Results are reported in around 4 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2004 (Diabetes care), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Glucagon compound page, all human trials.