Patti AM, et al. - In patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, researchers assessed the effect of exenatide long acting release (LAR) on carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and endothelial function. In an open label study, 60 subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus were treated with exenatide LAR as add-on to stable doses of metformin for 8 months. Investigators found that exenatide significantly improved fasting glycaemia, HbA1c, body mass index and waist circumference. The lipid profile improved significantly, with the exception of triglyceride levels where no changes were observed. According to findings, exenatide LAR treatment led to better cardio-metabolic parameters, including carotid IMT and flow-mediated dilation, regardless of glucometabolic control. These results can help to explain the cardiovascular safety of exenatide LAR at least in part, as recently reported in cardiovascular outcome trials.