Combining the diabetes drug exenatide (Byetta) with insulin provides better blood sugar control in patients with type 2 diabetes than insulin alone and helps promote weight loss, according to a new study published on-line Dec. 7, 2010 by the Annals of Internal Medicine.The 30-week study was conducted at 59 centers in five countries (Greece, Israel, Mexico, the U.K. and the U.S.) with 261 participants. All were adults with type 2 diabetes who were taking once-daily injections of Lantus (insulin glargine), either alone or with diabetes pills. They were randomly assigned to receive twice-daily injections of Byetta or placebo in addition to the diabetes medications that they were taking. Among the 138 patients on Byetta, 60 percent achieved near normal blood sugar levels compared to 35 percent of those on placebo. Byetta recipients also lost an average of four pounds during the study while placebo recipients gained an average of two pounds. There were no differences in the rates of hypoglycemia between the two groups.Byetta recipients reported side effects more frequently than placebo recipients, particularly nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but only in 10 percent of cases were the side effects bad enough to cause patients to stop the drug.
The study was funded and sponsored by an alliance of Eli Lilly and Company and Amylin Pharmaceuticals, who are collaborating to market Byetta.
pls send me the progress and development of this Byetta, I am Indonesian live in Jakarta city, 58 years and have type 2. The insulin price never be cheaper. It is really hard to survive, since not everybody is able to buy them. at the moment still using Humulin. Thank you