Clinical Effectiveness and Safety of Once-Weekly GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Dulaglutide as Add-On to Metformin or Metformin Plus Insulin Secretagogues in Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes.

The aim of this monocentric retrospective observational study was to evaluate the 18-month safety and effectiveness of GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) dulaglutide (DU) 1.5 mg/once weekly as an add-on to metformin (MET) or MET plus conventional insulin secretagogues in a study cohort with excess body weight and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Comparative efficacy versus liraglutide (LIRA) 1.2-1.8 mg/once daily in a study sample naïve to GLP-1 RAs, frequency matching for age, gender, T2D duration, degree of glycemic impairment, cardiovascular comorbidities, and medications, was addressed as a secondary aim. Clinical and biochemical data for efficacy outcomes and information on drug discontinuation due to adverse events (AEs) were collected from digital records. Initial analysis included 126 overweight and obese T2D patients (48.4% females). Out of these, 13 discontinued DU due to moderate-severe gastrointestinal AEs after a mean follow-up of 6 (4 standard deviations (SD)) months, while 65 completed 18 months of continuous therapy. At 6 months, there was a significant mean HbA1c reduction of -0.85% (1.17 SD) with respect to baseline values ( Although limited by a retrospective design and lack of constant up-titration for LIRA to the highest dose, these findings indicate that the beneficial responses to DU on a background of MET or MET plus insulin secretagogues are durable, especially in the presence of obesity and greater HbA1c impairment.