Effect of 26 Weeks of Liraglutide Treatment on Coronary Artery Inflammation in Type 2 Diabetes Quantified by [ 64 Cu]Cu-DOTATATE PET/CT: Results from the LIRAFLAME Trial

Quantification of coronary artery inflammation and atherosclerosis remains a challenge in high-risk individuals. In this study we sought to investigate if the glucagon like peptide-1 receptor agonist liraglutide has a direct anti-inflammatory effect in the coronary arteries using positron emission tomography (PET) with a radioactive tracer targeting activated macrophages in the vessel-wall. Thirty randomly selected participants with type 2 diabetes from the placebo-controlled trial LIRAFLAME were enrolled in this sub-study. Participants were, prior to enrollment in this sub-study, randomized to either treatment with daily liraglutide (n=15) or placebo (n=15). Both groups underwent a combined [ Cu]Cu-DOTATATE positron emission tomography and computed tomography scan of the heart at baseline and after 26 weeks of treatment. Coronary artery uptake of [ Cu]Cu-DOTATATE were measured as maximum standardized uptake values (SUV ); and means of the maximum values (mSUV ), both values were calculated at the level of each participant and each individual coronary-segment. SUV and mSUV values decreased significantly in the liraglutide group both at the participant level (SUV : p=0.013; mSUV : p=0.004) and at the coronary-segment level (SUV : p=0.001; mSUV : p