Cimetidine reduces weight and improves metabolic control in overweight patients with Type 2 diabetes

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the weight-reducing effect of cimetidine in overweight patients with Type 2 diabetes. DESIGN: A 12-week clinical intervention study of 400 mg cimetidine prescribed three times daily in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled design. SUBJECTS: Forty-three overweight patients with Type 2 diabetes (age 18-65y, body mass index (BMI) 27.2-48.2 kg/m(2)). MEASUREMENTS: Body weight, BMI, body fat, waist and hip circumference, waist/hip ratio, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, HbA(1c), plasma concentrations of insulin, insulin/glucose ratio and lipids at the start and after 12 weeks, and daily recordings of appetite. RESULTS: Subjects given cimetidine (n = 19) and placebo (n=24) lost 5.0+/-2.2kg (mean +/- s.d.) and 1.3+/-1.1 kg, respectively. Significant reductions were observed in appetite, body fat (29.9 +/- 6.6% to 25.3 +/- 7.4%), waist circumference (111.5 +/- 10.3 cm to 107.4 +/- 10.6 cm), waist/hip ratio (0.96 +/- 0.08 to 0.94 +/- 0.08), and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (reductions of 6.9 +/- 11.4 mmHg and 6.0 +/- 6.6 mmHg, respectively) in cimetidine group only. Significant decreases in fasting concentrations of blood glucose, HbA(1c), plasma insulin, insulin/glucose ratio, plasma triglycerides and a significant increase in plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were observed in the cimetidine group only. CONCLUSIONS: Cimetidine reduces appetite and body weight, and improves metabolic control in overweight subjects with Type 2 diabetes.