Adults with type 2 diabetes may have some relief coming their way, according to Canadian researchers who’ve recently published their findings in the prestigious medical journal, Lancet.  The study focused on a long-lasting, self-injecting medication, Exenatide, first of a new class of medications that mimic a specific hormone produced in the stomach after eating.

Exenatide mimics the action of glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1), a hormone the body produces normally after food is eaten.  Dr. Daniel Drucker, world renowned clinician-scientist, says there are no other options at this time for treating diabetes on a weekly basis instead of the current daily basis.  Drucker is senior investigator for Toronto’s Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital.

Drucker enlisted 300 patients from several countries to undergo a clinical trial, lasting six months, of Exenatide taken on a weekly basis versus the more conventional 14 injections a week.  About 75% of the study participants taking the weekly injections were able to reach their targeted glucose levels within the study period.  The once-a-week medication also produced fewer adverse side effects and did not increase the risk of hypoglycemia, a dangerous drop in blood sugar levels.  Many study participants lost weight, too.

Drucker has spent the last 20 years studying GLP-1 and several drugs targeting GLP-1 are being actively developed.  Exenatide is scheduled for review by Canada’s drug regulatory review board in 2009.