glp-1 receptor agonists and cardiovascular outcome trials an update Effects Tolerability of Agonists: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 99,599 Patients The Paper of The Month

In these cardiovascular safety trials, in secondary or exploratory analyses, GLP-1 receptor agonists were also shown to reduce macro-albuminuria, an accepted surrogate marker for diabetic kidney disease (DKD), a condition that still represents a major unmet medical need

BCBC drug tiers may include: Tier 1: typically includes preferred generic drugs Tier 2: typically includes non-preferred generic drugs Tier 3: typically includes preferred brand-name drugs Tier 4: typically includes non-preferred brand-name drugs Tier 5: typically includes specialty drugs Tier 6: typically includes non-preferred specialty drugs Its also possible that your BCBS plan may include drug tiers such as: Tier 1: generic drugs and lower-cost preferred brand-name drugs Tier 2: non-preferred generic drugs or preferred brand-name drugs Tier 3: non-preferred brand-name drugs or drugs that have a lower-cost equivalent on a lower drug tier Tier 4: specialty drugs Ozempic is frequently placed in Tier 3 on the BlueMedicare PPO Enhanced plan provided by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina and is placed as a Tier 2 Preferred Brand drug on various HMO and PPO plans provided by Blue Shield of California

From 2004 to 2009, an analysis of the database revealed a six-fold increase in pancreatitis incidents linked to the DPP-4 inhibitor sitagliptin and the GLP-1 mimetic exenatide, the first two GLP-1-based medications marketed in the US [51]

One such study by McClean and colleagues [61] observed that liraglutide can cross the blood-brain barrier in substantial amounts and can prevent deficits in the water maze task performance and object recognition in AD model mice

That result is encouraging, but it was observational, so it shows an association rather than proof of prevention

Moreover, efpeglenatide therapy reduced the risk of CV disease by about 27% compared to the placebo in the Effect of Efpeglenatide on Cardiovascular Outcomes (AMPLITUDE-O) study [51]