Sitagliptin in the Elderly

Overview

Diabetes is common in the elderly; by the age of 70, approximately 25% of the population will have diabetes. Unfortunately, currently available medications are often not as effective or not well tolerated in older adults. Sitagliptin is a new medication in a new class of agent called incretins. Incretins have many potential advantages for the treatment of diabetes in the elderly. They stimulate insulin secretion, which is impaired in all older people with diabetes. The incidence of hypoglycemia with currently available medications increases with age, and incretins rarely cause hypoglycemia . They assist with weight loss, whereas many current medications used to manage diabetes result in weight gain in the elderly. They improve insulin action, and insulin resistance is a major problem in older people with diabetes.

To date, no clinical trials have been conducted specifically in the elderly, but the data noted above from our laboratory would imply that inhibitors of this enzyme could be more effective in the elderly patient population. In addition, we have convincingly demonstrated that diabetes in the elderly is metabolically distinct from diabetes in middle aged patients (1). Thus, it is clear further studies are warranted to determine the effectiveness of drugs in this class in elderly patients with diabetes. We propose a series of studies with your DP4 inhibitor sitaglipitin to determine its efficacy and safety in an elderly patient population with diabetes.

Conditions