Gli effetti extraglicemici di liraglutide: Focus sui marker cardiometabolici

The purpose of innovative therapeutic approaches for type 2 diabetes mellitus is to customize the antidiabetic treatment to each patient's need, in order to intensify glucose-lowering effects without hypoglycemia, reduce adverse events, and prevent cardiovascular events. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogues are effective drugs in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, and they also seem to have beneficial effects on several risk factors for cardiovascular disease, leading to cardiovascular risk reduction independent of hypoglycemic effects. Among these new drugs, liraglutide, a GLP-1 analogue with a homology of 97% to native GLP-1, exerts an effect on body weight, lipid parameters, blood pressure and endothelial function, inflammatory markers, markers of oxidative stress, and subclinical atherosclerosis. The results of numerous studies and metaanalyses on liraglutide suggest that this drug improves quality of life through the reduction in hypoglycemic episodes, glucose effectiveness, and the improvement of cardiovascular risk factors.