Effect of GLP-1RA on Cardiac Autonomic Neuropathy in Type 2 Diabetes

Summary

This study aims to investigate whether a class of diabetes medications called GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA), specifically semaglutide or polyethylene glycol loxenatide, can improve heart-related nerve damage in people with type 2 diabetes. This heart-related nerve damage is known as diabetic cardiac autonomic neuropathy (DCAN), which can cause problems such as fast resting heart rate, low blood pressure upon standing, and in severe cases, heart attack or sudden death. In this study, 60 adults with type 2 diabetes (ages 18-80) will be randomly divided into two groups. One group will receive standard diabetes care only, while the other group will receive standard care plus a once-weekly injection of either semaglutide or polyethylene glycol loxenatide for 6 months. Participants will undergo tests before and after the treatment period, including blood tests and non-invasive heart function tests (24-hour heart rate variability monitoring and cardiac autonomic reflex tests). The main goal is to see whether GLP-1RA treatment improves heart rate variability, a key sign of heart nerve function. The study also looks at changes in body weight, blood sugar control, and insulin resistance. This research may help determine whether GLP-1RA medications can protect against or improve diabetic heart nerve damage, beyond their known benefits for blood sugar control.

Timeline

Start

2026-04-01

Primary completion

2028-03-30

Completion

2028-08-30

Publications

• Results Takaku S, Tsukamoto M, Niimi N, Yako H, Sango K. Exendin-4 Promotes Schwann Cell Survival/Migration and Myelination In Vitro. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Mar 15;22(6):2971. doi: 10.3390/ijms22062971.
• Results Mehta K, Behl T, Kumar A, Uddin MS, Zengin G, Arora S. Deciphering the Neuroprotective Role of Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Agonists in Diabetic Neuropathy: Current Perspective and Future Directions. Curr Protein Pept Sci. 2021;22(1):4-18. doi: 10.2174/1389203721999201208195901.
• Results Lee HS, Han J, Lee SH, Park JA, Kim KW. Meteorin promotes the formation of GFAP-positive glia via activation of the Jak-STAT3 pathway. J Cell Sci. 2010 Jun 1;123(Pt 11):1959-68. doi: 10.1242/jcs.063784. Epub 2010 May 11.
• Results Jorgensen JR, Thompson L, Fjord-Larsen L, Krabbe C, Torp M, Kalkkinen N, Hansen C, Wahlberg L. Characterization of Meteorin--an evolutionary conserved neurotrophic factor. J Mol Neurosci. 2009 Sep;39(1-2):104-16. doi: 10.1007/s12031-009-9189-4. Epub 2009 Mar 4.
• Results Kikel-Coury NL, Brandt JP, Correia IA, O'Dea MR, DeSantis DF, Sterling F, Vaughan K, Ozcebe G, Zorlutuna P, Smith CJ. Identification of astroglia-like cardiac nexus glia that are critical regulators of cardiac development and function. PLoS Biol. 2021 Nov 18;19(11):e3001444. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001444. eCollection 2021 Nov.
• Results Aksu T, Gupta D, Pauza DH. Anatomy and Physiology of Intrinsic Cardiac Autonomic Nervous System: Da Vinci Anatomy Card #2. JACC Case Rep. 2021 Apr 21;3(4):625-629. doi: 10.1016/j.jaccas.2021.02.018. eCollection 2021 Apr.
• Results Kapa S, DeSimone CV, Asirvatham SJ. Innervation of the heart: An invisible grid within a black box. Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2016 Apr;26(3):245-57. doi: 10.1016/j.tcm.2015.07.001. Epub 2015 Jul 9.
• Results Wink J, van Delft R, Notenboom RGE, Wouters PF, DeRuiter MC, Plevier JWM, Jongbloed MRM. Human adult cardiac autonomic innervation: Controversies in anatomical knowledge and relevance for cardiac neuromodulation. Auton Neurosci. 2020 Sep;227:102674. doi: 10.1016/j.autneu.2020.102674. Epub 2020 May 16.
• Results Dimitropoulos G, Tahrani AA, Stevens MJ. Cardiac autonomic neuropathy in patients with diabetes mellitus. World J Diabetes. 2014 Feb 15;5(1):17-39. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v5.i1.17.
• Results Williams SM, Eleftheriadou A, Alam U, Cuthbertson DJ, Wilding JPH. Cardiac Autonomic Neuropathy in Obesity, the Metabolic Syndrome and Prediabetes: A Narrative Review. Diabetes Ther. 2019 Dec;10(6):1995-2021. doi: 10.1007/s13300-019-00693-0. Epub 2019 Sep 24.
• Results Kaze AD, Yuyun MF, Fonarow GC, Echouffo-Tcheugui JB. Cardiac autonomic dysfunction and risk of incident stroke among adults with type 2 diabetes. Eur Stroke J. 2023 Mar;8(1):275-282. doi: 10.1177/23969873221127108. Epub 2022 Nov 1.
• Results Goh JK, Koh L. Evaluating treatment options for cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in patients with diabetes mellitus: a systematic review. Diabetol Int. 2023 Apr 25;14(3):224-242. doi: 10.1007/s13340-023-00629-x. eCollection 2023 Jul.
• Results Vinik AI, Maser RE, Mitchell BD, Freeman R. Diabetic autonomic neuropathy. Diabetes Care. 2003 May;26(5):1553-79. doi: 10.2337/diacare.26.5.1553.
• Results Balcioglu AS, Muderrisoglu H. Diabetes and cardiac autonomic neuropathy: Clinical manifestations, cardiovascular consequences, diagnosis and treatment. World J Diabetes. 2015 Feb 15;6(1):80-91. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v6.i1.80.
• Results Maser RE, Lenhard MJ. Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy due to diabetes mellitus: clinical manifestations, consequences, and treatment. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Oct;90(10):5896-903. doi: 10.1210/jc.2005-0754. Epub 2005 Jul 12.

Drugs

Indications