Type 2 diabetes trial investigating weight-loss therapy

Researchers leading a major type 2 diabetes study are appealing for help with recruitment. 

The team from the Leicester Diabetes Centre are looking for men and post–menopausal women who have type 2 diabetes and are currently taking the drug metformin or who use diet and lifestyle control alone to control their diabetes.

The aim of the SGLT-2 Inhibitor Empagliflozin Effects on Appetite and Weight Regulation (SEESAW) study is to compare appetite hormones and weight change in people with type 2 diabetes who take a new drug called Empagliflozin with those who are given a placebo. They also want to investigate the effect of being on a low-calorie diet in addition to taking the drug.

Professor MelanieDavies CBE, professor of diabetes medicine at the University of Leicester and chief investigator of the study, said: “We already know type 2 diabetes is very closely associated with weight, with over 90 per cent of newly diagnosed people above their ideal weight.”

Professor Davies, also director of the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre and a diabetes consultant at Leicester’s Hospitals, added: “Losing weight can help people control their condition and further complications, which is why we wanted to explore the benefits of Empagliflozin and how it might significantly alter people’s health in the long-run.”

Empagliflozin (Jardiance™) is a class of drug called SGLT-2 inhibitors, commonly used to help people with type 2 diabetes lose weight. It works by increasing the amount of sugar in the urine, which helps to lower the amount of blood glucose in the body.

Glucose lost in the urine is in the form of calories, and this results in weight loss over a few months of treatment. However, the weight loss seen in people taking Empagliflozin (Jardiance™) is less than researchers would expect considering the amount of calories being lost as glucose in the urine. It is believed this discrepancy may be due to how the drug affects appetite.

The study, set to take place over 21 months, will provide researchers with a better understanding of why the predicted and observed weight loss is different when taking Empagliflozin (Jardiance™) by measuring appetite regulation.

The Leicester Diabetes Centre is an international centre of excellence in diabetes research, education and innovation led by Professor Davies CBE and Professor Kamlesh Khunti.