Reprints

A single copy of this article may be reprinted for personal, noncommercial use only.

Byetta, Victoza, Bydureon: Diabetes drugs and weight loss

By Mayo Clinic staff
Original Article:  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/byetta/AN01315
  • image.alt
  • With Mayo Clinic endocrinologist

    Maria Collazo-Clavell, M.D.

    read biography
The Mayo Clinic Diet Book, learn more

Free

E-newsletter

Subscribe to Housecall

Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics.

Sign up now

Question

Byetta, Victoza, Bydureon: Diabetes drugs and weight loss

Tell me about the diabetes drugs Byetta, Victoza and Bydureon. Can they really help people who have diabetes lose weight? Are there side effects?

Answer

Controlling Your Diabetes

Subscribe to our Controlling Your Diabetes e-newsletter to stay up to date on diabetes topics.

Sign up now
from Maria Collazo-Clavell, M.D.

Exenatide (Byetta, Bydureon) and liraglutide (Victoza) are taken by injection, similar to insulin, but they're not insulin. These drugs are in a class of drugs called incretin mimetics, which improve blood sugar control by mimicking the action of a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). Among other things, these drugs allow insulin, which lowers blood sugar, to work more effectively in the body.

Byetta, Bydureon and Victoza not only improve blood sugar control but may also lead to weight loss. There are many proposed ways in which these medications cause weight loss. They appear to help suppress appetite. But the most prominent effect of these drugs is that they delay the movement of food from the stomach into the small intestine. As a result, you may feel "full" faster and longer, so you eat less.

Byetta is injected twice daily, and Victoza is injected once a day. Bydureon, a newer formulation, is injected once a week. These drugs do have different effects and side effects to consider.

  • Exenatide (Byetta, Bydureon). The most common side effect of exenatide is mild to moderate nausea, which improves with time in most people. Several cases of kidney problems, including kidney failure, have been reported in people who have taken exenatide. Rarely, exenatide may cause harmful inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis).
  • Liraglutide (Victoza). Some studies have found that liraglutide reduces systolic blood pressure and triglycerides, in addition to improving blood sugar control. The most common side effects are headache, nausea and diarrhea. Clinical studies have also shown that liraglutide may cause pancreatitis.

If you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or multiple endocrine neoplasia, you shouldn't use exenatide or liraglutide. Laboratory studies have associated these drugs with thyroid tumors in rats. Until more long-term studies are completed, the risk to humans for developing these types of tumors as a result of using these drugs isn't known.

These drugs are designed for people who have type 2 diabetes and haven't been studied as a weight-loss aid in people who have normal blood sugar. If you have diabetes and wonder if Byetta, Bydureon or Victoza may be helpful, talk to your doctor.

Next question
Caffeine: Does it affect blood sugar?
References
  1. Byetta (prescribing information). San Diego, Calif.: Amylin Pharmaceuticals; 2009. http://pi.lilly.com/us/byetta-pi.pdf. Accessed March 19, 2012.
  2. Dungan K. Glucagon-like peptide-1-based therapies for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index. Accessed March 21, 2012.
  3. FDA: Byetta label revised to include safety information on possible kidney problems. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm188708.htm. Accessed March 19, 2012.
  4. Information for healthcare professionals: Exenatide (marketed as Byetta): 8/2008 update. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm124713.htm. Accessed March 19, 2012.
  5. FDA approves new treatment for type 2 diabetes. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2010/ucm198638.htm. Accessed March 20, 2012.
  6. Victoza (prescribing information). Bagsvaerd, Denmark: Novo Nordisk; 2010. http://www.novo-pi.com/victoza.pdf. Accessed March 20, 2011.
  7. Medication guide: Victoza. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2011/022341s004MedG.pdf. Accessed March 20, 2012.
  8. Neff LM, et al. Emerging role of GLP-1 receptor agonists in the treatment of obesity. Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy. 2010;3:263. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3047971/. Accessed March 21, 2012.
  9. Bydureon (prescribing information). San Diego, Calif.: Amylin Pharmaceuticals; 2012. http://documents.bydureon.com/Bydureon_PI.pdf. Accessed March 21, 2012.
  10. Medication Guide: Bydureon. San Diego, Calif.: Amylin Pharmaceuticals; 2012. http://documents.bydureon.com/Bydureon_Medication_Guide.pdf. Accessed March 21, 2012.
AN01315 June 5, 2012

© 1998-2013 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

  • Reprints
  • Print

  • Share on:

  • Email

Advertisement


Text Size: smaller largerlarger