Pioglitazone Incretin Study

February 1, 2011 updated by: University of Vermont

Effects of Pioglitazone on the Regulation of Insulin Secretion in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Incretin hormones are hormones produced by the gut in response to food intake. These hormones help the body to control the metabolism of glucose (sugar). In particular, two incretin hormones (GLP-1 and GIP) cause the pancreas to secrete more insulin in response to high blood glucose levels. This helps the body to metabolize the glucose more effectively, lowering blood sugar levels. GLP-1 and GIP do not work as well in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) as in subjects who do not have diabetes. This study tests whether a medicine called pioglitazone (Actos), which is commonly used to treat T2DM, improves the ability of GIP to increase insulin secretion.

To address this question the investigators will recruit patients with T2DM whose diabetes is controlled with either diet and exercise or with metformin (another medicine commonly used to treat T2DM). Subjects will undergo measurement of body fat by DEXA scanning and a series of studies to characterize their metabolism. These studies include an oral glucose tolerance test (a test sometimes used to diagnose diabetes), a mixed-meal challenge (to measure how much GLP-1 and GIP are produced in response to a meal) and measurement of insulin secretion in response to glucose and GIP given through a vein. The investigators will also obtain small samples of fat (from just under the skin of the belly) using a needle to measure levels of the receptor for GIP. Subjects will then be randomly assigned to 12 weeks of treatment with either pioglitazone or matching placebo (an inactive tablet that does not contain medication). The dose of pioglitazone will be increased during the first 4 weeks to the maximum prescribed dose of 45 mg per day. Subjects will be seen every 2-4 weeks during the treatment phase of the study. After 12 weeks of treatment all studies performed at the beginning of the study will be repeated. The pioglitazone treatment will continue until the end of testing, approximately 4 weeks.

The results of this study may give us information about why glucose control deteriorates in T2DM. This information might also lead to new ways to prevent or treat T2DM.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

24

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Vermont
      • South Burlington, Vermont, United States, 05403
        • University of Vermont

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Type 2 diabetes controlled with diet+exercise or metformin monotherapy
  • HbA1c less than or equal to 7%
  • Women will be non-fertile or practicing birth control

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Acute or chronic medical conditions that would contraindicate participation
  • Class III or IV heart failure
  • Pregnant or nursing women
  • Patients taking antidiabetic medications other than metformin, oral or chronic topical steroids, weight loss agents, antipsychotics, or other drugs that could affect insulin sensitivity or secretion.
  • AST or ALT more than 2.5 times the upper limit of normal
  • Active alcohol or drug abuse
  • Weight greater than 300 pounds

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: 2
Placebo arm
placebo
Active Comparator: 1
Pioglitazone arm
Starting dose at 15 mg for two weeks, then titrated up to 45 mg in the subsequent 2 weeks.
Other Names:
  • Actos (brand name for pioglitazone)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in incretin-mediated insulin secretion and receptor regulation of glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Time Frame: 12 weeks per subject
12 weeks per subject

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in active GIP in response to an oral glucose tolerance test and mixed meal challenge
Time Frame: 12 weeks
12 weeks
Change in active GLP-1 in response to the oral glucose tolerance test and the mixed meal challenge
Time Frame: 12 weeks
12 weeks
Change in glucose response during the oral glucose tolerance test and mixed meal challenge
Time Frame: 12 weeks
12 weeks
Change in insulin secretion during the oral glucose tolerance test and the mixed meal challenge
Time Frame: 12 weeks
12 weeks
Change in the acute insulin response to glucose, insulin sensitivity and the disposition index during the IV glucose tolerance test.
Time Frame: 12 weeks
12 weeks
Change in adipocyte GIP receptor mRNA expression levels.
Time Frame: 12 weeks
12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Richard E Pratley, MD, University of Vermont

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

May 1, 2008

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2010

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 7, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 10, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

April 11, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

February 2, 2011

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 1, 2011

Last Verified

January 1, 2010

More Information

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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