October - 26 - 2009
A 20-week treatment with liraglutide is well-tolerated, can induce weight loss, and improve certain obesity-related risk factors, including prediabetes, a new study shows. Researchers for the NN8022-1807 Study Group randomly assigned 564 individuals to receive one of four liraglutide doses, a placebo, or orlistat for 20 weeks. The participants also were instructed to consume a low-fat diet and increase their physical activity. About 76 percent of individuals in the group receiving 3.0 mg of liraglutide lost more than 5 percent body weight, compared to 30 percent of those in the placebo group and 44 percent in the orlistat group. Between 1.8 mg and 3.0 mg of liraglutide per day reduced the prevalence of prediabetes by 84 percent to 96 percent, and all doses of liraglutide reduced blood pressure. More patients experienced nausea and vomiting with liraglutide than placebo, but the researchers write that these events were mainly "transient" and rarely led to the patients discontinuing treatment.