Patient was educated on Linagliptin and its mechanism of action as follows:
- Rise in the blood sugars stimulates release of a natural hormone in the human body, called Incretin. Incretin brings about the secretion of insulin from the pancreas and insulin helps with uptake of glucose by the tissues and lowers the blood glucose.
- As the blood sugar decreases, the need for incretin and insulin also decreases. Consequently, the stimulus for fresh incretin and insulin secretion gradually subsides. An enzyme called dipeptidyl peptidase breaks down the active incretin in circulation, thereby, reducing the stimulus for further insulin secretion from pancreas.
- Some individuals with type-2 diabetes are deficient in the secretion of incretins. The deficiency in incretin secretion will contribute to reduced insulin secretion and reduced tissue uptake of glucose in these individuals, which leads to elevated blood sugars. In such individuals, increasing the survival time for the incretins in circulation, by blocking the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase can help increase insulin secretion and thereby, lower the blood sugars.
- Linagliptin is an oral antidiabetic medication that inhibits the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase and allows the incretins to be active for longer period.
- Incretins active for longer time will contribute towards increased insulin secretion, which increases the tissue uptake of glucose and reduces the blood sugar.
- Linagliptin can be used alone or in combination with other medications to manage cases of type-2 diabetes.
