Kineret Proves Effective as Diabetes Medication During Clinical Trials
Updated March 26, 2015.
In a recent clinical trial, the arthritis drug Kineret (anakinra) helped to control blood glucose levels in diabetes. The drug is known as a "recombinant human interleukin-1-receptor antagonist." What does this mean? When there is inflammation in the body, the immune system produces cytokines, a type of protein. Kineret blocks the production of interleukin-1, a type of cytokine associated with joint inflammation.
That's why it's used to treat arthritis.
In diabetes, interleukin-1beta is produced in the pancreas. High glucose levels appear to trigger the release of interleukin-1beta. This not only reduces the function of beta cells in the pancreas, but can cause beta cells to self-destruct. In a clinical study that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine on April 12, 2007, participants with type 2 diabetes received 100 mg of Kineret by self-administered injection once a day for 13 weeks. A control group also received a placebo shot.
During the study, all participants continued to receive their regularly scheduled diabetes medications, and kept all other aspects of their lifestyle the same as usual.
Kineret improved blood glucose levels in all the people who received it during the trial. It also improved the production of insulin by the pancreas beta-cells. Overall, this significantly lowered glycated hemoglobin A1C levels for the group. No one in the study suffered hypoglycemia from Kineret.
Researchers are encouraged by the results of this study. Kineret is relatively short-acting as an arthritis medication, lasting only about 6 to 8 hours. However, Dr. Kristina Rother cautioned that Kineret treatment "led to a modest improvement in the control of glycemia, with a maximal effect at 4 weeks but with an upward trend in the glycated hemoglobin level at 13 weeks.” This indicates that long-term study is required to clarify the effect of Kineret on long-term blood sugar control.
Sources:
Larsen, M.D., Claus M., Faulenbach M.D., Mirjam, Vaag, M.D., Ph.D., Allan, Volund, M.Sc., Aage, Ehses, Ph.D., Jan A.. Seifert Ph.D., Burkhardt, Mandrup-Poulsen, Thomas, and Donath, M.D., Mark Y. "Interleukin-1-Receptor Antagonist in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus." New England Journal of Medicine 35612 Apr 2007 1517-1526. 18 April 2007.
Rother KI. Diabetes treatment--bridging the divide. N Engl J Med. 2007 Apr 12;356(15):1499-501.
"Anakinra." MedlinePlus. 01 April 2003. U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. 18 Apr 2007.
