Background: In Japan, with increasing age of the population, diabetic patients often become in need of hemodialysis due to diabetic nephropathy, and thus there is a demand for development of diabetic treatments that take into account renal effects in the elderly. No previous studies of alogliptin had focused on Japanese elderly subjects; we therefore assessed the effects of alogliptin in elderly individuals using available data.
Methods: Laboratory data were compiled for 1 year at intervals of 3 months following the start of alogliptin treatment. The subjects were divided into three groups by age: < 65 years (n = 110), 65 - 74 years (n = 87), and ≥ 75 years (n = 93). Laboratory values in comparison with baseline were compared within groups at various time points, and changes from baseline were compared among the different groups.
Results: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels decreased significantly from baseline values in all groups at and after month 3: the change at month 12 was -0.74±1.45% for the age group < 65, -0.47±1.02% for the age group 65 - 74, and -0.42±1.11% for the age group ≥ 75. The 12-month change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was -6.5 ± 12.0 for the age group < 65, -2.0 ± 8.4 for the age group 65 - 74, and -1.5 ± 10.0 for the age group ≥ 75; the reduction in the age group < 65 was significant, whereas the reduction in the age groups ≥ 65 was not.
Conclusions: Alogliptin significantly lowers HbA1c levels in the elderly and can be used without posing any safety issues, including renal effects, thus contributing to safe blood glucose control in clinical practice.
Keywords: Alogliptin; Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor; Elderly; Type 2 diabetes; eGFR.