Open-Label Study to Assess the Efficacy of Ipragliflozin for Reducing Insulin Dose in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Receiving Insulin Therapy

Ertugliflozin Delays Insulin Initiation and Reduces Insulin Dose Requirements in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: Analyses From VERTIS CV

CONTEXT

VERTIS CV evaluated the cardiovascular safety of ertugliflozin in patients with type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

OBJECTIVE

The aim of these analyses was to assess the insulin requirements of VERTIS CV patients over the trial duration.

METHODS

Patients received ertugliflozin 5 mg, 15 mg, or placebo once daily; mean follow-up was 3.5 years. Time to insulin initiation in patients who were insulin naïve at baseline, change in insulin dose in patients receiving baseline insulin, and hypoglycemia incidence in both patient groups were assessed.

RESULTS

In VERTIS CV, mean duration of type 2 diabetes was 13.0 years; glycated hemoglobin was 8.2%. Among 4348 (53%) insulin-naïve patients, the likelihood of insulin initiation was significantly reduced with ertugliflozin vs placebo (ertugliflozin 5 mg: hazard ratio [HR] 0.70, 95% CI 0.58-0.84; ertugliflozin 15 mg: HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.53-0.78). Time to insulin initiation was delayed with ertugliflozin; the estimated delay in reaching a 10% cumulative incidence of new insulin initiations vs placebo was 399 days with ertugliflozin 5 mg and 669 days with ertugliflozin 15 mg. Among 3898 (47%) patients receiving baseline insulin, the likelihood of requiring a ≥20% increase in insulin dose was significantly reduced with ertugliflozin vs placebo (ertugliflozin 5 mg: HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.52-0.75; ertugliflozin 15 mg: HR 0.51, 95% CI 0.41-0.62). The incidence of hypoglycemia events was not increased with ertugliflozin treatment.

CONCLUSION

In VERTIS CV patients, ertugliflozin reduced the likelihood of insulin initiation, delayed the time to insulin initiation by up to ∼1.8 years, and reduced insulin dose requirements vs placebo, without increasing hypoglycemia events.

A Scoping Review Evaluating the Effect of SGLT-2 Inhibitors on Insulin Dose Requirements in Insulin-Dependent Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE

Assess evidence describing the effect of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors on total daily insulin (TDI) requirements in insulin-dependent patients with type 2 diabetes.

DATA SOURCES

A scoping review was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Protocols and Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. The search was conducted in PubMed; citation mapping was completed in Web of Science. Filters for human studies, English language, and a publication date, from January 1, 2005 to April 12, 2021, were applied.

STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION

Studies assessing insulin dose requirements with concurrent use of an SGLT2 inhibitor for patients with type 2 diabetes were included.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Sixteen studies were included and demonstrated that addition of an SGLT2 inhibitor typically reduced TDI requirements. Insulin reductions were often statistically significant, occurring in studies evaluating (1) within subjects who received SGLT2 inhibitors, and (2) between subjects receiving SGLT2 inhibitors versus placebo. Compared with placebo, insulin dose reduction ranged from -0.72 to -19.2 units. However, studies were relatively small, not designed to assess TDI change, and some utilized fixed dose insulin protocols or empiric insulin dose reductions.

CONCLUSIONS

Lowering insulin requirements may have benefits, such as decreased hypoglycemia risk, insulin resistance, and cost. Addition of an SGLT2 inhibitor may modestly reduce TDI requirements for patients with type 2 diabetes. Evidence indicating SGLT2 inhibitor use reduces TDI may lead to additional implementation in practice and inform future research. Further research is needed to clarify insulin type (i.e., basal or prandial) and degree of TDI reduction expected with addition of an SGLT2 inhibitor.

SGLT2 inhibitor ipragliflozin exerts antihyperglycemic effects via the blood glucose-dependent increase in urinary glucose excretion in type 2 diabetic mice

This study investigated the antihyperglycemic effects of the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor ipragliflozin via the blood glucose-dependent increase in urinary glucose excretion in KK/A^y type 2 diabetic mice. In oral glucose tolerance tests (glucose load: 1, 2, or 4 g/kg) in 24-h-fasted mice, blood glucose levels increased in a glucose-loading dose-dependent manner. Oral administration of ipragliflozin (1 mg/kg) significantly inhibited the increase in blood glucose concomitant with urinary glucose excretion. To investigate the effects of ipragliflozin under low blood glucose conditions, blood glucose level and urinary glucose excretion were examined under fasting conditions in diabetic mice that had prefasted for 0, 6, 12, 18, or 24 h. Ipragliflozin significantly lowered blood glucose levels in mice that had prefasted for 0, 6, or 12 h, but not 18 h or more. Blood glucose level was well correlated with ipragliflozin-induced antihyperglycemic and urinary glucose excretion effects, suggesting that these effects occur in a blood glucose-dependent manner. Thus, in a hyperglycemic state, ipragliflozin exerts a potent antihyperglycemic effect and marked increases in urinary glucose excretion; however, in a non-hyperglycemic or hypoglycemic state, the hypoglycemic effect is weak. Ipragliflozin may therefore be a useful antidiabetic agent for normalizing daily blood glucose fluctuations in type 2 diabetes.