GLP-1 Research & Proposed Health Effects

Blood Glucose & Diabetes

Substances that act similar to GLP agonists – so-called GLP-1 agonists – are used as anti-diabetic medications.

GLP-1 increases insulin and decreases glucagon levels, which will result in decreased blood glucose [8, 9].

GLP-1 seems to delay stomach emptying, which slows down glucose spikes and makes it easier for the body to maintain blood sugar levels right after a meal [10].

In animals with diabetes, GLP-1 agonists improve the function of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Scientists think that these drugs have the potential to regenerate pancreatic cells, but this hasn’t been proven in humans [11, 12].

Cell-based research is investigating whether fat muscle cells also increase glucose uptake when GLP-1 is higher [13].

Before GLP-1 agonists were discovered, scientists explored the effects of unchanged GLP-1 injections in diabetics [14].

In one study, 6-weeks long administration of GLP-1 to type 2 diabetic patients reduced fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c, a measure of long-term sugar control (15).

However, GLP-1 has a very short half-life of about 1.5 minutes and is rapidly suppressed by an enzyme called dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4). GLP-1 agonists were developed to overcome these issues and achieve long-term sugar control [16, 14].