Twelve weeks treatment with the DPP-4 inhibitor, sitagliptin, prevents degradation of peptide YY and improves glucose and non-glucose induced insulin secretion in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Peptide YY in this randomized controlled trial publication.

To examine the effects of 12 weeks of treatment with the DPP-4 inhibitor, sitagliptin, on gastrointestinal hormone responses to a standardized mixed meal and beta cell secretory capacity, measured as glucose and non-glucose induced insulin secretion during a hyperglycaemic clamp, in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Who Took Part

The study group was 24 patients.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled.

The patients were allocated by chance, so the Peptide YY group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Blinding on both sides kept the patients and researchers unaware of who received Peptide YY.

Some patients received a placebo instead of Peptide YY, giving a reference point.

Main outcome measure was postprandial total glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) concentration.

Additional measures were insulin and C-peptide, glycaemic control, intact and total peptide YY (PYY) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), and intact glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) and GLP-1.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Dipeptidyl-Peptidase IV Inhibitors, Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide, Glucagon-Like Peptide 1, Glucagon-Like Peptide 2, Hypoglycemic Agents and Insulin.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Peptide YY in 24 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 8 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2010 (Diabetes, obesity & metabolism), a journal based in England.

More context: the Peptide YY compound page, all human trials.