A commonly used diabetes drug increases the risk of stroke, heart disease, and death, according to a study released today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In a study of nearly a quarter million Type 2 diabetics on two diabetes drugs, the risk of heart failure was 25 percent greater on Avandia than the competitor drug, Actos, and the risk of stroke was 27 percent greater. The study comes two weeks before an expert panel from the Food and Drug Administration convenes to decide whether to keep the drug on the market.
It's not the first time that Avandia has been in the news for having harmful side effects. Some Orlando doctors no longer prescribe the drug since a study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested the same thing in 2007 and prompted an investigation by the FDA.
"The advice we've been giving to patients is that they don't need to stop the drug immediately," said Steven R. Smith, scientific director at the Translational Research Institute at Florida Hospital. The drug helps lower blood-glucose levels on a daily basis.
"There are good alternative drugs that work very similarly that do not appear to have the cardiovascular risk," said Smith. "I encourage patients to have a conversation with their doctor about alternative treatment."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/health/os-diabetes-drug-20100628,0,6360301.story
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