This Week in Diabetes & Endocrinology: Liver Risks, Limb Events, Kidney Decline

From the New England Journal of Medicine, a trial examined liver safety profiles across major glucose-lowering drug classes. The authors describe findings from this network meta-analysis evaluating adverse outcomes among over seven million adults with type 2 diabetes ^[1].

Thiazolidinediones demonstrated lower hazard for hepatocellular carcinoma compared to DPP-4 inhibitors and other agents in the observational data.

Meanwhile, vascular protection emerged as a key theme elsewhere this week. A systematic review published in Diabetes research and clinical practice analyzed over 240,000 adults with peripheral artery disease ^[2].

The study found that GLP-1 receptor agonists significantly reduced major adverse limb events, reporting an HR of 0.59 for these therapies.

We also saw research in the Journal of endocrinological investigation regarding metabolic markers and weight management ^[3].

Researchers described a post-hoc analysis from a Phase 3 RCT where tirzepatide at doses of 10 or 15 mg improved waist-to-height ratio. At 72 weeks, approximately half of participants showed improvement in this metric.

Elsewhere this week, kidney health took center stage with findings reported by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology ^[4].

A randomized controlled trial enrolled over three thousand five hundred participants with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide at a dose of 1.0 mg reduced the risk of primary kidney outcomes or death.

Finally, muscle mass assessment was highlighted in Primary care diabetes ^[5].

A massive meta-analysis involving nearly half a million patients revealed that sarcopenia drastically raises mortality and cardiovascular risks among those with diabetes.