Effects of exenatide vs. metformin on endothelial function in obese patients with pre-diabetes: a randomized trial
- Design
- Randomized trial · Mixed outcome
- Match to healthy normal-weight adults aged 55–75
- Different population[Auto] Participants had obesity/overweight without diabetes (mean age 58.5); effects may be mediated by weight loss.
- Could weight loss explain it?
- Possibly[Auto] Participants had obesity and/or type 2 diabetes and the abstract does not separate direct drug effects from weight loss or glycaemic improvement.
- Study tier
- Study tier 3[Auto] Small or short randomized trial (auto-provisional).
- Assessment
- Version 1 · automatic, not yet reviewed by a person · Sep 13, 2026
Study facts come from the paper. Population match, weight-loss explanation and study tier are our judgments, made against the reference group of healthy normal-weight adults aged 55–75.
[Auto, unreviewed; quoted from abstract conclusions] Three months of exenatide therapy had similar effects on microvascular endothelial function, markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and vascular activation, as metformin, in patients with obesity and pre-diabetes.
01Findings
What the study reported
- Drugs
- Exenatide
- Dose
- 45.7 mg
- Comparator
- metformin
- Primary outcome
- Not extracted
- Effect
- Not extracted
- 95% confidence interval
- Not extracted
- Follow-up
- Not stated
- Adverse events
- Not extracted
- Limitations
- Auto-classified from abstract only; effect estimates, adverse events and limitations not extracted. Requires manual review.
Who was studied
- Mean age
- 58.5
- Obesity status
- obesity/overweight present (all or most)
- Diabetes status
- excluded (no diabetes)
Study quality details
- Study design
- Randomized controlled trial
- Sample size
- not extracted
- Randomization
- yes
- Blinding
- open-label
- Comparator
- not stated
- Follow up duration
- not stated
- Outcome type
- mixed
- Replication
- not assessed (auto)
- Consistency with other evidence
- not assessed (auto)
- Population applicability
- INDIRECT
- Statistical precision
- not extracted
- Risk of bias
- not assessed (auto)
- Funding conflicts
- unclear
- Peer review status
- yes
02Funding
Funding and conflicts
- Funding
- not reported in abstract
- Industry funded
- Unclear
- Manufacturer
- None identified
- Sponsor role
- not reported in abstract
- Author conflicts
- not available in metadata
- Independent replication
- unknown
Funding is shown on every study and never used to score it.
04Source
The source, as retrieved
Abstract
[BACKGROUND] Glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist treatment may improve endothelial function via direct and indirect mechanisms. We compared the acute and chronic effects of the GLP-1 receptor agonist exenatide vs. metformin on endothelial function in patients with obesity and pre-diabetes. [METHODS] We performed a randomized, open-label, clinical trial in 50 non-diabetic individuals (mean age 58.5 ± 10.0; 38 females) with abdominal obesity and either impaired fasting glucose, elevated HbA1c, or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) who were randomized to receive 3-months of exenatide or metformin. Microvascular endothelial function, assessed by digital reactive hyperemia (reactive hyperemic index: RHI), C-reactive protein (CRP), circulating oxidized LDL (oxLDL), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) were measured at baseline and 3-months. Seven subjects with IGT participated in a sub-study comparing the effects of pre-administration of exenatide and metformin on postprandial endothelial function. [RESULTS] There were no differences for the change in RHI (Δ exenatide: 0.01 ± 0.68 vs. Δ metformin: -0.17 ± 0.72, P = 0.348), CRP, oxLDL, or VCAM-1 between exenatide and metformin treatment. Triglycerides were reduced more with exenatide compared to metformin (Δ exenatide: -25.5 ± 45.7 mg/dL vs. Δ metformin: -2.9 ± 22.8 mg/dL, P = 0.032). In the sub-study, there was no difference in postprandial RHI between exenatide and metformin. [CONCLUSIONS] Three months of exenatide therapy had similar effects on microvascular endothelial function, markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and vascular activation, as metformin, in patients with obesity and pre-diabetes. [CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION] This study is registered on http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/: NCT00546728.
Where this record came from
| Source | Retrieved | Identifier |
|---|---|---|
| pubmed | Sep 13, 2026 | 22681705 first ingestion |