Linagliptin Probably Is Safe for Older Diabetic Patients Who Receive Multiple Medications

Although many older diabetic patients take multiple medications that have potentially serious side effects, these patients often are excluded from diabetes drug trials. The dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor linagliptin (Tradjenta) might be a relatively safe choice for older diabetics because of its low risk for hypoglycemia and its excretion largely by nonrenal pathways. In a manufacturer-sponsored trial, researchers randomized 238 European patients with type 2 diabetes (age, >70; glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA_1c], ≥7.0%) who were receiving stable doses of metformin, sulfonylureas, or basal insulin (or a combination of these) to add either once-daily linagliptin (5 mg) or placebo to their regimens. Most patients also were taking five or more n…