title: Continued efforts to translate diabetes cardiovascular outcome trials into clinical practice.
abstract: Diabetic patients suffer from a high rate of cardiovascular events and such risk increases with HbA1c. However, lowering HbA1c does not appear to yield the same benefit on macrovascular endpoints, as observed for microvascular endpoints. As the number of glucose-lowering medications increases, clinicians have to consider several open questions in the management of type 2 diabetes, one of which is the cardiovascular risk profile of each regimen. Recent placebo-controlled cardiovascular outcome trials (CVOTs) have responded to some of these questions, but careful interpretation is needed. After general disappointment around CVOTs assessing safety of DPP-4 inhibitors (SAVOR, TECOS, EXAMINE) and the GLP-1 receptor agonist lixisenatide (ELIXA), the EMPA-REG Outcome trial and the LEADER trial have shown superiority of the SGLT2-I empagliflozin and the GLP-1RA liraglutide, respectively, on the 3-point MACE outcome (cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction or stroke) and cardiovascular, as well as all-cause mortality. While available mechanistic studies largely support a cardioprotective effect of GLP-1, the ability of SGLT2 inhibitor(s) to prevent cardiovascular death was unexpected and deserves future investigation. We herein review the results of completed CVOTs of glucose-lowering medications and suggest a possible treatment algorithm based on cardiac and renal co-morbidities to translate CVOT findings into clinical practice.
authors: Department of Medicine, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padova, Italy.
authors: Angelo
authors: A
authors: Avogaro
authors: Department of Medicine, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padova, Italy. gianpaolofadini@hotmail.com.
authors: Gian Paolo
authors: GP
authors: Fadini
authors: Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy.
authors: Giorgio
authors: G
authors: Sesti
authors: Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, UOC Endocrinologia, University Hospital of Verona, Verona, Italy.
authors: Enzo
authors: E
authors: Bonora
authors: Section of Metabolic Diseases and Diabetes, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Paradisa, 2, 56124, Pisa, Italy.
authors: Stefano
authors: S
authors: Del Prato
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000187:drug effects*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality; D000068456:Clinical Studies as Topic; D052216:Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009017:Morbidity; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D052216:Glucagon-Like Peptide 1
keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular outcome trials; Complications; Diabetes; Treatment