Preserving β-cell function Imatinib has the potential to change the course of type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is caused by autoimmune-mediated destruction of β cells

Imatinib (Gleevec) is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has been successfully used in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) for many years.

"Lancet - Diabetes and Endocrinology" earlier commentary pointed out, "This is the (impact) assessment for the first time in human type 1 diabetes tyrosine kinase inhibitor"

This is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial

The study reached its primary endpoint

▲In the MMTT test, the area under the C-peptide response curve of the imatinib group (blue) and the placebo group (red) for 2 hours

The two groups used similar exogenous insulin at baseline.

▲Exogenous insulin dose and HbA1c level of imatinib group (blue) and placebo group (red)

The secondary and exploratory analysis did not observe a significant effect of imatinib treatment on the immune response, but it did show that imatinib has a series of unique effects on metabolism, including improved β-cell function and insulin sensitivity

In terms of safety, imatinib is generally well tolerated.

During the 24-month follow-up period, 71% (32/45) of patients in the imatinib treatment group experienced grade 2 or more serious adverse events, compared with 59% (13/22) in the placebo group

The most common adverse events (Grade 2 or more severe) that differed between the two groups included:

Gastrointestinal problems: The incidence of imatinib group was 13%, mainly nausea, and no placebo group occurred; additional laboratory investigation: 22% of imatinib group vs 9% of placebo group

According to the trial protocol, 17 patients (38%) in the imatinib group and 5 (23%) patients in the placebo group required temporary adjustment of the drug dose; 6 patients (13%) in the imatinib group stopped due to adverse events No one in the placebo group discontinued the drug

Note: The original text has been deleted

Reference

[1] Stephen E Gitelman, et al.

[2] Jay S Skyler.