Use of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in Prader-Willi Syndrome: Report of Six Cases

Abstract

A high incidence of glucose metabolism alterations (impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, and type 2 diabetes) has been observed in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) (7–40%), particularly after pubertal age and in obese subjects (1). Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist (exenatide) and analog (liraglutide) are the new drugs recently introduced for type 2 diabetes that simultaneously reduce appetite and body weight, and their beneficial effects have been reported only in few cases with PWS (2–5). We report, for the first time, the effects of long-term liraglutide or exenatide treatment in six genetically confirmed (3 deletion and 3 uniparental disomy of chromosome 15) (UPD) adult PWS patients (3 males, aged 20.7–37.7 years; all but one obese, BMI 28–57.2 kg/m2) never treated with growth hormone, affected by type 2 diabetes. All patients were treated at least …