No effects of a 6‐week intervention with a glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonist on pancreatic volume and oedema in obese men without diabetes. Issue 10 (1st July 2020) - Svane, Maria S.
Abstract: Aim: To investigate the effect of a glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonist (GLP‐1RA), liraglutide, on pancreatic volume, oedema, cellularity and DNA synthesis in humans. Materials and Methods: We performed an open‐label study in 14 obese men (age 38 ± 11 years, body mass index 32 ± 4 kg/m 2 ) without diabetes. Subjects were examined at baseline, during titration (week 4) of liraglutide towards 3.0 mg/day, and 2 weeks after steady‐state treatment (week 6) of a final dose of liraglutide. The primary endpoint was pancreatic volume determined by magnetic resonance imaging. Secondary endpoints included pancreatic oedema and cellularity, positron emission tomography‐based [ 18 F]fluorothymidine (FLT) uptake (DNA synthesis) and plasma pancreatic enzymes. Results: Plasma amylase (+7 U/L [95% confidence intervals 3‐11], P < .01) and lipase (+19 U/L [7‐30], P < .01) increased during liraglutide treatment. Pancreatic volume did not change from baseline to steady state of treatment (+0.2 cm 3 [−8‐8], P = .96) and no change in pancreatic cellular infiltration was found ( P = .22). During titration of liraglutide, FLT uptake in pancreatic tissue increased numerically (+0.08 [0.00‐0.17], P = .0507). Conclusions: Six weeks of treatment with liraglutide did not affect pancreatic volume, oedema or cellularity in obese men without diabetes.