One of the newest weapons in the war on diabetes is helping patients control their blood sugar levels and lose weight at the same time.
And it comes from an unlikely place: a venomous lizard.
They roam the deserts of the Southwest United States and fascinate visitors to zoos. The gila monster is a funny-looking reptile that only eats every few months. A powerful protein in its saliva is now the basis of a new and highly successful diabetes drug called Byetta. It’s injected twice a day before meals.
“It’s entirely new. These are drugs that stimulate the insulin release, the hormone that’s critical to transform, again, sugar into energy,” said Dr. Eugenio Cersosimo, a researcher at the Texas Diabetes Institute at 701 S. Zarzamora St.
Researchers at the institute were some of the first to try out this unique medicine. Byetta was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last April for patients like Linda Rivera, who had trouble controlling her blood sugar levels with pills alone. For her, it’s been a godsend.
“It was just a total difference. You’re not hungry. You’re satisfied with what you eat. You pick healthy choices and you see a rapid weight loss,” she said.
How rapid is the weight loss? Rivera lost 20 pounds in seven weeks, and she’s finding it easier to make healthy eating choices. Other people have lost 50 pounds or more, but the average is about five pounds. The drug actually helps suppress your appetite and you eat less.
“The drug can promote satiety. People feel full. They don’t want to eat anymore,” Cersosimo said.
At first, some patients on Byetta may feel a little nauseous, a side effect that subsides quickly. Several other drugs that mimic this same hormone are in the pipeline and will hit the market over the next few years.
Meanwhile, patients like Rivera are glad they have a little something extra to get their blood sugar back in the normal range.
“It really makes a difference. It’s amazing. It’s like a wonder drug,” she said.
The vast majority of diabetic drugs can cause weight gain, a side effect these patients really don’t need. With its weight loss record, experts said this drug has the potential to make the biggest splash since the introduction of the popular drug Metformin a decade ago.
