[New strategy in type 2 diabetes tested in clinical trials. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) affects basic caused of the disease].

A novel therapy for type 2 diabetes is based on the gut hormone, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). GLP-1 is released from the gut during a meal intake and stimulates insulin secretion. The hormone also inhibits glucagon secretion, delays gastric emptying and induces satiety. It has been shown to reduce circulating glucose both under fasting conditions and after meal intake in subjects with type 2 diabetes. A problem in developing this novel therapy is that GLP-1 is rapidly inactivated by the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4), which results in a short half-life of the hormone requiring continuous infusion. Two strategies have been developed to circumvent this drawback. One strategy is the use of DPP-4 resistant GLP-1 receptor agonists (exenatide and liraglutide) and another strategy is to inhibit DPP-4 activity (LAF237). Both these strategies have been successful in clinical studies.