Research
Hormonal
Combining a GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) with an SGLT2 inhibitor provides superior glucose control, greater weight loss, and greater reductions in systolic blood pressure compared to either drug alone.
If your blood sugar remains high despite taking metformin, ask your doctor about combining a GLP-1 receptor agonist (like exenatide) with an SGLT2 inhibitor (like dapagliflozin). This combination lowers blood sugar more effectively than either drug alone, helps you lose more weight, and reduces blood pressure.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Exenatide plus dapagliflozin was significantly superior to either drug alone for all secondary efficacy endpoints, with greater reductions in fasting and postprandial plasma glucose levels, more patients with an HbA1c less than 7.0% (<53 mmol/mol), greater weight loss, and greater reductions in systolic blood pressure (all p</=0.025).
Why this rating
Based on a dedicated study and post-hoc analysis cited in the review.
Source
Pharmacotherapy of ‘treatment resistant’ type 2 diabetes
André Scheen · Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy · 2017
DOI 10.1080/14656566.2017.1297424
narrative_reviewCited 36×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Combining basal insulin with a GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) significantly reduces HbA1c, body weight, and hypoglycemia risk compared to basal insulin alone or intensified insulin regimens.Strong
- Treatment-resistant type 2 diabetes, defined as failure to achieve HbA1c targets despite triple oral therapy (metformin, sulfonylurea, and a third agent), can be effectively managed by adding a DPP-4 inhibitor and an SGLT2 inhibitor to metformin, or by combining basal insulin with a GLP-1 receptor agonist or SGLT2 inhibitor.Good
Related findings · Hormonal
- Initial treatment for type 2 diabetes should be a combination of metformin and either an SGLT-2 inhibitor or a GLP-1 receptor agonist to achieve cardiorenal protection, rather than monotherapy or older agents like sulfonylureas.Strong
- For patients with specific monogenic obesity syndromes (leptin deficiency, POMC/PCSK1/LEPR mutations), targeted pharmacotherapy (recombinant leptin or setmelanotide) is highly effective and should be prioritized, unlike in polygenic obesity.Strong
- Continued weekly administration of 2.4 mg subcutaneous semaglutide prevents weight regain and promotes further weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity, whereas switching to placebo results in significant weight regain.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →