Effects of Treatment With Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors for 3 years on the Renal Function in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

In addition to lowering glycated hemoglobin levels sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor treatment has been shown to have many other beneficial effects on the metabolic function of patients with type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, it was recently reported-based on the results of a 2-year clinical trial-that SGLT2 treatment improved the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in type 2 diabetic patients with a normal renal function. We therefore retrospectively investigated the effects of SGLT2 inhibitors in 111 outpatients who had been treated with SGLT2 inhibitors for more than 3 years. At 3 years after the initiation of treatment, the patients' glycated hemoglobin levels, body weight, AST, ALT, γ-GTP, LDL-C, blood pressure, and serum uric acid levels were significantly decreased, and their HDL-C and hematocrit levels were significantly increased. Moreover, their eGFRs were found to have significantly increased at 2 years after the initiation of treatment. Consequently, we found that the many beneficial effects of SGLT2 inhibitors on the metabolic function continued for 3 years and we considered that SGLT2 inhibitor treatment might improve the renal function of type 2 diabetic patients with s normal renal function.