It also suppresses after-meal release of glucose from the liver. In studies where Hemoglobin A1c test results were compared between those who used both insulin and pramlintide and those who used insulin, the A1c results of those who used the injectable Amylin analog were significantly lower than those who did not. The clinical trials showed that many overweight diabetics who received pramlintide lost weight, while most lean diabetics, given the same medications, did not lose weight. Although the mechanism at work here is not yet clear, I find it is exciting, as achieving and maintaining ideal weight contributes to good health, a sense of well-being, and for some, a reduction in the amount of insulin needed to maintain good control. Many diabetics have episodes of severe hypoglycemia, dangerously low blood sugar.
Weight gain can follow as well.
Studies in animals have shown that pramlintide, which normally retards release of the liver's glucose stores, suspends its action in the presence of hypoglycemia. What this suggests is that pramlintide helps lower the blood glucose without increasing the risk of hypoglycemia. Some test data appear to show a reduction in hypoglycemic episodes for the duration of Amylin therapy. Simply, pramlintide appears to slow gastric emptying, which would more closely mimic the way our system is supposed to work, certainly helping to stabilize glycemic control. Although the effect of pramlintide in the presence of this complication has not been yet studied, the company plans to do so before the drug is marketed.