title: Benfluorex and blood glucose control in non insulin-dependent diabetic patients.
abstract: Benfluorex has been reported to decrease blood glucose in different dismetabolic conditions, particularly in noninsulin-dependent diabetic (NIDD) patients, but the mechanism of this effect is poorly known. We evaluate fasting glucose production (3H-glucose infusion) and B-cell secretion (phi 1, phi 2 and glucose utilization SI) (minimal model technique) in 7 mild, diet treated, NIDDM patients after 6-week administration of benfluorex (450 mg/day) and placebo, in random sequence and double blind design. Body weight, HbA1c, plasma glucose profile, fasting plasma insulin, lactate, pyruvate, beta-OH-butyrate, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides were also measured at the end of each treatment. Mean values of body weight (71 +/- 4 vs 69 +/- 4 kg, p less than 0.01), HbA1c (8.3 +/- 0.2 vs 7.7 +/- 0.2%, p less than 0.01), fasting plasma glucose (137.0 +/- 6.5 vs 121.4 +/- 5.6 mg/dl, p less than 0.01), lactate (1.82 +/- 0.13 vs 1.22 +/- 0.11 mmol/l, p less than 0.0025) pyruvate (0.164 +/- 0.011 vs 0.095 +/- 0.010 mmol/l, p less than 0.0005), and beta-OH-butyrate (0.91 +/- 0.06 vs 0.66 +/- 0.04 mmol/l, p less than 0.005) were significantly lower after benfluorex than after placebo. phi 1, phi 2 and SI values were not significantly different in the two treatments. Fasting glucose production was significantly lower after benfluorex than after placebo: 2.46 +/- 1.57 vs 1.84 +/- 0.85 mg/kg.min, p less than 0.02. These results demonstrate that 6-week treatment with benfluorex produces a significant blood glucose lowering effect in mild NIDDM patients, mainly by decreasing glucose production.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Medicina Interna, Università di Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cavallo-Perin
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Estivi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Boine
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Galletti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pacini
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cobelli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pagano
mesh_terms: D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005277:Fenfluramine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents; D005277:Fenfluramine; C001584:benfluorex