The effect of GLP-1RA exenatide on idiopathic intracranial hypertension: a randomized clinical trial

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at Exenatide.

Here, the researchers translate these findings into patients by conducting a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial to assess the effect of exenatide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, on intracranial pressure in idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Why It Was Studied

Telemetric intracranial pressure catheters enabled long-term intracranial pressure monitoring.

The trial enrolled adult women with active idiopathic intracranial hypertension (intracranial pressure >25 cmCSF and papilloedema) who receive subcutaneous exenatide or placebo.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 16 women taking part.

The age groups tagged for this paper are young adults and adults, women only.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Exenatide and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Blinding on both sides kept the women and researchers unaware of who received Exenatide.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Exenatide group a baseline to be compared against.

What Was Measured

The three primary outcome measures were intracranial pressure at 2.5 h, 24 h and 12 weeks and alpha set a priori at less than 0.1.

The subject headings attached to it are Exenatide, Pseudotumor Cerebri, Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor, Peptides, Venoms, Hypoglycemic Agents and Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2.

Author keywords: cerebrospinal fluid, glucagon-like peptide 1, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, intracranial pressure and telemetric monitor.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Exenatide in 16 women.

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.

The publication is from 2023 (Brain : a journal of neurology), a journal based in England.

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