Effect of bromocriptine on glycemic control, risk of cardiovascular diseases and weight in patients with type 2 diabetes: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients, including those in good glycemic control, have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Maintaining good glycemic control with drugs may reduce long-term CVD risk. Bromocriptine has been in clinical use for over 30 years, but the utility of bromocriptine in the treatment of diabetes patients has been proposed more recently. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the available data regarding the effect of bromocriptine in T2DM management. METHOD: A systematic literature search was conducted in the electronic databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Medline, and Science Direct, to locate studies that meet the objectives of this systematic review. Additional articles were included by conducting direct Google searches of the references cited by eligible articles located by the database search. The following search terms were used on PubMed “bromocriptine OR dopamine agonist AND diabetes mellitus OR hyperglycemia OR obese”. RESULT: Eight studies were included in the final analysis. 6210 of the 9391 study participants received bromocriptine treatment, while 3183 received a placebo. The studies demonstrated that patients who took bromocriptine treatment had significantly reduced blood glucose and BMI, which is the main cardiovascular risk factor in T2DM patients. CONCLUSION: Based on this systematic review, bromocriptine may be used for T2DM treatment for its cardiovascular risk reduction effect, especially body weight reduction. However, advanced study designs might be warranted.