A recent study has shown that dapagliflozin, a medication used to treat type 2 diabetes (T2D), can reduce certain cardiovascular events in patients with heart failure. However, the study also revealed that dapagliflozin did not have a significant effect on the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR).
The study, conducted by researchers from the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center in Osaka, Japan, was a multicenter, randomized trial that enrolled patients with heart failure and T2D from 18 medical facilities in Japan. The participants were randomly assigned to either a dapagliflozin group or a control group, with 146 and 148 patients, respectively.
During the observation period, 107 patients (87.7 percent) in the dapagliflozin group were taking a daily dose of 5 mg. The primary outcome measured in the study was the change in UACR from baseline after two years of observation. However, the researchers found no significant difference in UACR changes between the dapagliflozin and control groups.
Despite this, the study did reveal some positive secondary outcomes. The dapagliflozin group showed a larger mean decrease in left ventricular end-diastolic dimensions, which is one of the echocardiographic parameters used to measure heart function. Additionally, the dapagliflozin group had a lower incidence of the composite endpoint, which included cardiovascular death, hospitalization for cardiovascular events, hospitalization for heart failure events, hospitalization for all causes, and a change in heart failure prescriptions.
The findings related to UACR contrary to those of previous studies. Three randomized controlled trials showed that dapagliflozin had a significant effect on renal dysfunction, as measured by UACR. The authors of the present study suggest that further research is needed to explore this inconsistency.
It is important to note that the study received partial funding from biopharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca and Ono Pharmaceuticals. Several authors of the study have disclosed ties to these companies.
In conclusion, dapagliflozin has shown promising results in reducing certain cardiovascular events in patients with heart failure and T2D. While it did not have a significant effect on UACR in this study, it is essential to further investigate the consistency of these findings with previous research. This study highlights the potential benefits of dapagliflozin in managing the complications associated with heart failure and T2D.
