Investigator Q&A: Expanding Treatment Options for JIA

In new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine, investigators led by William Tamborlane, M.D., a Yale University pediatric endocrinologist, reported the efficacy of the GLP1 agonist liraglutide for children with type 2 diabetes.The NEJM study found that in children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes, liraglutide, at a dose of up to 1.8 mg per day with metformin with or without basal insulin, was efficacious in improving glycemic control over 52 weeks. This efficacy came at the cost of an increased frequency of gastrointestinal adverse events.Liraglutide (Victoza, Novo Nordisk) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June of this year as an injectable for children 10 years or older with type 2 diabetes. It is the first non-insulin drug approved to treat type 2 diabetes for pediatric patients since metformin was approved for this group in 2000. Victoza has been approved to treat adult patients with type 2 diabetes since 2010.The prescribing information for liraglutide includes a boxed warning to advise health care professionals and patients about the increased risk of thyroid C-cell tumors. Victoza also carries warnings about pancreatitis, pen sharing, hypoglycemia when used in conjunction with certain other drugs known to cause hypoglycemia including insulin and sulfonylurea, renal impairment or kidney failure, hypersensitivity and acute gallbladder disease.In this Q&A, Dr. Tamborlane discusses the importance of expanding treatment options.