Research

Hormonal

Exenatide (AC2993) administered subcutaneously twice or thrice daily for 28 days significantly reduces HbA1c and postprandial glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes who are inadequately controlled on metformin and/or sulfonylureas.

If you have type 2 diabetes and your current pills aren't keeping your blood sugar in range, adding exenatide (a GLP-1 based injection) can significantly lower your HbA1c and post-meal blood sugar spikes over a short period. It works by boosting insulin when needed, lowering glucagon, and slowing digestion. While it might cause some initial nausea, this often improves. Importantly, it does not cause weight gain, unlike some other diabetes medications.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
All AC2993 groups had reductions in HbA1c ranging from 0.7 to 1.1% (P < 0.006)... AC2993 treatment led to statistically significant (P < 0.004) reductions in serum fructosamine... Statistically significant reductions (P < 0.004) from baseline to day 28 in mean postprandial plasma glucose concentration were observed with AC2993 treatment
Mark Fineman et al. · Diabetes Care · 2003

Why this rating

Randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 109 patients, though short duration (28 days).

Source

Effect on Glycemic Control of Exenatide (Synthetic Exendin-4) Additive to Existing Metformin and/or Sulfonylurea Treatment in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Mark Fineman et al. · Diabetes Care · 2003

DOI 10.2337/diacare.26.8.2370

rct · n=109Cited 355×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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