A panel of physician-scientists including Ralph A. DeFronzo, MD, Chantal Mathieu, MD, PhD, Tina Vilsbøll, MD, DMSc, and David D’Alessio, MD, discussed the current evidence for combination therapies in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Carolyn S.P. Lam, MBBS, PhD, FRCP, FAMS, FESC, FACC, Muthiah Vaduganathan, MD, MPH, Brendon Neuen, MBBS (Hons), MSc (Oxon), and David C. Wheeler, MD, FRCP, reviewed recent trial results demonstrating the safety and efficacy of SGLT2 inhibitors for both cardiovascular and renal treatment, and discussed how those trial results will help improve care for people…

Nigel A. Calcutt, PhD, Fabiana Picconi, MD, Karolina S. Khan, MD, PhD, and Kara R. Mizokami-Stout, MD, made up a panel of researchers who discussed some of the most challenging issues they face while investigating methods to prevent and treat diabetic neuropathies.

Camillo Ricordi, MD, FNAI, Thierry Berney, MD, A.M. James Shapiro, MD, PhD, and Piotr Witkowski, MD, PhD, explained what has led to pancreatic islet transplantation effectively halting in the United States while the procedure has become standard of care in much of the rest of the world.

“Stress is epidemic in the U.S. and other Western [countries], and most of our stressors are social,” said Carol A. Shively, PhD, in a session on the influence of social stress and social inequalities on metabolic health. She presented evidence based on animal models. Mika Kivimäki, PhD, FMedSci, presented evidence of the correlation between socioeconomic…

Investigators presented findings from the GRADE study comparing clinical outcomes of glimepiride, a sulfonylurea; sitagliptin, a DPP-4 inhibitor; insulin Lantus; and liraglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist. More than 70% of participants reached the primary metabolic endpoint.

An analysis of the SCORED and SOLOIST trials favored sotagliflozin over placebo for total cardiovascular death, hospitalization for heart failure, and urgent heart failure visit. The combined SGLT1/SGLT2 inhibitor produces benefits in patients with reduced and preserved ejection fraction, said Deepak Bhatt, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA, FSCAI, FESC.

“The road ahead for the treatment of type 2 diabetes is fresh,” said Alice Y.Y. Cheng, MD. “The future, in terms of what we will be able to offer our patients to help them meet their metabolic goals, appears to be very positive.”

The efficacy and safety outcomes of efpeglenatide are similar to the outcomes seen in trials of other GLP-1 receptor agonists, according to researchers who presented AMPLITUDE-O data at the Scientific Sessions.

DARE-19 was the first large, randomized clinical trial of an SGLT2 inhibitor to address the potential benefits of these agents in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Results showed no significant effect on organ failure or survival. Mikhail N. Kosiborod, MD, was the principal investigator.