Xenical may boost insulin in diabetics

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As well as decreasing insulin resistance by inducing weight loss in overweight people with type 2 diabetes, the weight-loss drug Xenical may prompt a helpful increase in a hormone that triggers insulin production after a meal, Turkish researchers report.

Dr. Taner Damci and colleagues at Istanbul University note in the medical journal Diabetes Care that Xenical—otherwise known as orlistat—decreases fat absorption from the intestines. This may lead to secretion of hormones that stimulate insulin secretion, such as one called glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1).

To investigate, the researchers conducted a crossover study of 29 subjects with type 2 diabetes. After an overnight fast, they were given orlistat or a placebo followed by a standard meal with a 38 percent fat content.

Compared to placebo, orlistat caused a significantly enhanced increase in GLP-1 and blunted the usual after-meal rise in blood glucose levels and triglycerides.

Thus, Damci told Reuters Health, “apart from induction of weight loss, orlistat may help blood glucose control in obese type 2 diabetic patients through enhancement of insulin secretion response to meals by increasing gut hormone GLP-1.”

The researchers conclude that further trials are needed to confirm these findings and to determine whether any such benefits can be maintained over an extended period of time.

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, May 2004.

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