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Local News |Dubai |
Staff Reporter | Sunday, March 23, 2008
New diabetes treatment available in the UAE
(Dubai Health & News)
An innovative new treatment for people suffering from Type 2 diabetes is
now available in the UAE, where one out of every five people suffers
from the disease.
Byetta (Exenatide), the first of a new class of medicine that mimics
a blood sugar-regulating hormone in the body, has been available in the
U.S. since 2005 and is now offered in more than 23 countries and used by
more than 700,000 diabetes patients worldwide.
Byetta, which is co-developed by drug makers Eli Lilly and Amylin
Pharmaceuticals, has been a major success in the countries where it has
been released because of the treatment's effectiveness in regulating
blood sugars and its convenience of use compared to insulin.
A significant effect of Exenatide is weight loss, which is a major
benefit for Type 2 diabetes patients, who are often overweight. The
combination of blood sugar regulation and weight loss give Byetta a
one-two punch in the battle against the diabetes epidemic affecting the
Gulf region.
"Our aim is to make available the best in class treatments for
patients in the UAE," says Dr. Issa El Mansoori, Director of the
Drug Control Department in the Ministry of Health. "We give a high
importance to all that relates to the diabetes field, as we know that
diabetes is one of the major diseases threatening our community."
"Byetta is a new class of treatment for diabetes that will help
answer some of the unmet patients' needs. We are one of the first
countries in the Middle East to make Byetta available." explains
Dr. El Mansoori.
Byetta is also the first in a new class of treatment called incretin
mimetics, which are compounds that provide the same benefits and have
the same actions as the natural incretin hormone in the body.
Incretin is normally released in the body by the gut into the
bloodstream in response to food intake and has a direct effect on
regulating blood sugar (glucose) levels in the body by increasing
insulin secretion. Studies have shown that the effect of the incretin
hormone is lessened or completely eliminated in patients with Type 2
diabetes.
In addition, Byetta (Exenatide) helps with glucose (blood sugar)
management in several ways:
 It signals the pancreas to create additional insulin when glucose
levels are too high
It regulates the liver so that it doesn't produce unneeded glucose,
and
It helps slow the rate at which sugar enters the bloodstream.
Exenatide (Byetta) is indicated for Type 2 diabetes patients who failed
on oral medications and is administered as an injection.
The Discovery of Byetta in the Gila monster
The Gila Monster, a species of venomous lizard native to the U.S. is
at the origin of the discovery of Exenatide (Byetta). A component of the
Gila Monster's venom has proven remarkably effective in the control of
Type 2 Diabetes in humans. Thankfully, the Gila Monster is a protected
species in the U.S. and Eli Lilly and Amylin Pharmaceuticals were able
to develop a synthetic version for the treatment of type 2 diabetes - (Exenatide
- Byetta).
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