Pleiotropic effects of liraglutide in patients with type 2 diabetes and moderate renal impairment: individual effects of treatment.

Liraglutide has pleiotropic effects favouring cardiovascular and renal risks. We investigated individual responses to liraglutide in six cardio-renal risk factors to examine whether responses in one risk factor are associated with changes in other risk factors (cross-dependency). Secondary analysis of the LIRA-RENAL trial (n=279) in type 2 diabetes. Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c ), body weight, systolic blood pressure (SBP), low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were measured at baseline and after 26 weeks of liraglutide/placebo treatment: 'Good responders' had a change within the best quartile. In the liraglutide-treated group, good HbA1c responders showed similar changes in other risk factors analysed as low responders (p≥0.17). Good weight responders had a larger reduction in HbA1c than low weight responders (-1.6±0.94 vs -1.0±0.82%; p=0.003), but similar changes in the other risk factors (p≥0.11). Good and low responders in SBP, UACR, LDL-cholesterol or eGFR demonstrated similar changes in other risk factors (p≥0.07). Treatment response to liraglutide is largely individual; aside from an association between weight and HbA1c reduction, there are no obvious cross-dependencies in risk factor response. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.