by
Carl Hampton
09/26/2006
For all those diabetics out there, do the
names Avandia or Altace ring a bell? A
recent study has shown that both drugs may
well help by giving additional prevention
for those that are “pre-diabetics”-
which accounts for almost 40 million of our
population. As many as half of the people
who are “pre-diabetics” will develop
diabetes within a three year time span.
This has been the largest study on diabetes
prevention ever. The study was funded by the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research as
well as other companies that make
pharmaceuticals, like GlaxoSmithKline PLC
which makes Avandia and Sanofi-Aventis SA
and King Pharmaceuticals which makes Altace.
Avandia, also known as Rosiglitazon, was
shown to cut the risk of Type 2 diabetes
development by more than half. Avandia also
controlled blood-sugar to keep it at a
normal level. Type 2 diabetes is by far the
most common form of diabetes in the U.S.
today. For 18 million sufferers, this
information could well be a major
development.
Another part of the study looked at Altace,
or Ramipril which functions as a blood
pressure medication, but can also help
control blood sugar – yet it does not
reduce any risk. The aim of the study was to
prevent Type 2 diabetes which is most linked
to obesity and sometimes kidney failure,
amputations and death. Type 2 diabetes
happens when the body naturally does not
produce enough insulin or cannot effectively
use what the body does produce.
So here are the ups and downs of the study.
Both Altace and Avandia were used on the
volunteers and some of them did not use any
form of medication. The study showed that
less people died on Avandia than those who
did not take it. But of all the volunteers
on Avandia, fourteen of them developed heart
failure and only two of those not taking
medication developed heart failure.
Experts are somewhat skeptical about the
study results because the volunteers were
also regularly counseled about healthy diets
and lifestyles. Meaning the results could
well be very different had the volunteers
not been participating in any form of
medical assistance. However, many doctors
say that working out and maintaining a
healthy diet is still the best possible way
to prevent diabetes in the long term. “We
know that lifestyle changes alone can reduce
the risk of developing diabetes by up to 58
percent,” said Dr. Martin Abrahamson,
Medical Director of the Joslin Diabetes
Center in Boston. Dr. Abrahamson is not
associated with the study.
Have an opinion or a question you would like
me to answer, then write me!
http://www.CarlHampton.com
