Elderly Diabetic Patients with Effective Add-on Therapy of Dulaglutide as a GLP-1 Receptor Analogue (GLP-1 RA)

Abstract

Background: For diabetic treatment, Dulaglutide has been used and effective as a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor analogue (GLP-1 RA). This report is to describe the various responses and to analyze dulaglutide administration in the elderly with DM. Case presentation: Two patients were Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) treated with add-on therapy of Dulaglutide. Case 1 is 81-year-old female is diabetic for 2 years, and on Metformin and Glimepiride as Oral Hypoglycemic Agents (OHAs). Her HbA1c was higher with 10.6% and she was started to given Dulaglutide 0.75mg. Remarkable efficacy was found in 3 months with HbA1c 6.7%. Value of LDL-C increased from 135 mg/dL to 158 mg/dL. Case 2 is 83-year-old male with 27 years of diabetes. He was on medication of Metformin and Glimepiride. His HbA1c persisted around 9.0%-9.4%, then he was provided Dulaglutide as add-on therapy. In 3 months, HbA1c decreased to 8.2% and LDL-C increased from 57 mg/dL to 116 mg/dL. Discussion and conclusion: Dulaglutide is a useful GLP-1 RA with once a week administration. There were some reports concerning LDL changes after dulaglutide therapy, showing that the changes may depend on the basal LDL value before the administration of dulaglutide. Dulaglutide may influence lipid metabolism. This report is expected to become reference in diabetic practice and research in the future.