About

Due to the increasing prevalence of diabetes worldwide, it has become a major public health problem, and new blood sugar-lowering drugs with different mechanisms of action have been developed to treat the disease. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) and Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4 inhibitors) are two new drug classes designed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Injectable GLP-1RAs, interestingly, provide superior glucose control and lead to weight loss compared to orally administered DPP-4 inhibitors. Both drug classes are well-tolerated and highly effective, with a low risk of hypoglycemia when used alone or in combination with other antidiabetic drugs.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an incretin hormone that triggers glucose-induced insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells, exhibiting an insulinotropic effect. It suppresses glucagon secretion from alpha cells by triggering somatostatin release from pancreatic delta cells. In addition to beneficial effects such as appetite suppression, decreased food intake, and slowing of gastric emptying resulting in weight loss, it also exhibits useful effects such as improving myocardial performance, narrowing infarct area, and regulating endothelial function in patients with T2DM. Furthermore, it has functions such as triggering beta cell proliferation and differentiation and preventing beta cell apoptosis.