Can we reverse the diabetic phenotype?

Pharmacological interventions aim to reduce the effect diabetes for everyday Australians

Every day a team of highly skilled and passionate researchers come together to discover ways to help those living with diabetes, better manage their condition.

This World Diabetes Day (14 November), Clinical Director of Endocrinology, Professor Chris Gilfillan notes the importance that research and clinical trials have on improving quality of life.

“We have a very active Clinical Research Unit here at Eastern Health and we’re currently running 11 trials in diabetes, concentrating mostly on what we call incretin therapies. One you may have heard of, is Ozempic. But we have improved versions of Ozempic, which we are currently trialling, which have even more dramatic effects on body weight and can, in some patients, completely reverse the diabetic phenotype,” he said.

Clinical trials look at ways various pharmacological interventions can reduce the effect diabetes has on the body and reduce other comorbidities that may appear in those living with diabetes.

“What we aim to do, is provide people with therapy that they can handle, that doesn’t cause them too much distress or inconvenience., and that does the job. This way they can rest assured that their diabetes is well controlled and they’re doing everything they can to prevent complications down the track, like cardiovascular disease and kidney problems… Diabetes is now the leading cause of end stage renal failure and the requirement for dialysis in older patients.

“We are currently recruiting for trials with drugs that we call triple agonists. These are medications, given by weekly injection which stimulate all three of the incretin receptors; GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptors. The combination seems to work particularly well, and we’re seeing some dramatic results in some of our patients losing up to 30 kilograms and having all their other diabetes medications discontinued. We’re very excited about that. These are going to be the drugs of the future,” Prof Gilfillan said.

While clinical trials can provide a great benefit to those individuals involved, Prof Gilfillan also emphasises how participation greatly assists the wider community who will be able to benefit from more widely available and effective treatments.

“The kind of benefits that people get from being in clinical trials is that they’re really in it for the benefit of future patients, and they’re helping to establish the role of new medications in the treatment of diabetes. And it’s an exciting time. These drugs are beyond our wildest dreams in terms of their effectiveness and are going to change the way diabetes is managed from here on into the future.

“Establishing their role, establishing their safety is an important step along the way, and people should and can get a lot of enjoyment through participating and contributing the global medical research endeavour to improve human health,” Prof Gilfillan said.