tiffmaxee
Member Since 2013
I received an update from Cornell veterinary and am posting part here.
The oral sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors bexagliflozin (Bexacat™) and velagliflozin (Senvelgo®) have dramatically altered the management of feline diabetes, providing relatively effective treatment options for owners unable or unwilling to treat diabetic cats with injectable insulin.
Clinical trials carried out before the release of these drugs identified adverse effects (AEs) that include potentially serious ones like diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), euglycemic DKA (both of which are identified in a Boxed Warning on each drug), and some significant but usually less dangerous ones including gastrointestinal signs like vomiting, diarrhea, and anorexia, lethargy, and some indicators of decreased kidney function for bexagliflozin, and increased thirst and urination, body weight fluctuation, and some indicators of decreased kidney function for velagliflozin.
While these pre-market trials provide important information to veterinary professionals considering prescribing these drugs to their diabetic feline patients, the need for ongoing vigilance for potential additional AEs that may be caused by these drugs is clear.
To address this issue, a recent study used the FDA’s Animal Drug Adverse Events (ADAE) database to investigate the incidence of additional AEs in cats being treated with these FDA-approved SGLT2 inhibitors over the 2-3 year period since their release.
The extensive results showed that during this time, 2,876 bexagliflozin-related and 2,776 velagliflozin-related AEs were reported.
The oral sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors bexagliflozin (Bexacat™) and velagliflozin (Senvelgo®) have dramatically altered the management of feline diabetes, providing relatively effective treatment options for owners unable or unwilling to treat diabetic cats with injectable insulin.
Clinical trials carried out before the release of these drugs identified adverse effects (AEs) that include potentially serious ones like diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), euglycemic DKA (both of which are identified in a Boxed Warning on each drug), and some significant but usually less dangerous ones including gastrointestinal signs like vomiting, diarrhea, and anorexia, lethargy, and some indicators of decreased kidney function for bexagliflozin, and increased thirst and urination, body weight fluctuation, and some indicators of decreased kidney function for velagliflozin.
While these pre-market trials provide important information to veterinary professionals considering prescribing these drugs to their diabetic feline patients, the need for ongoing vigilance for potential additional AEs that may be caused by these drugs is clear.
To address this issue, a recent study used the FDA’s Animal Drug Adverse Events (ADAE) database to investigate the incidence of additional AEs in cats being treated with these FDA-approved SGLT2 inhibitors over the 2-3 year period since their release.
The extensive results showed that during this time, 2,876 bexagliflozin-related and 2,776 velagliflozin-related AEs were reported.
