Posted on 09/15/2006 6:43:46 PM PDT by blam
Drug can help cut diabetes risk, say researchers
By Nic Fleming, Medical Correspondent
(Filed: 16/09/2006)
A drug that improves the body's ability to turn sugars into fuel can substantially reduce the chances of people at risk of Type 2 diabetes developing the disease, according to research published yesterday.
In a large international trial volunteers with "pre-diabetes" taking rosiglitazone, sold under the brand name Avandia, were 60 per cent less likely than those on placebos to develop the full disease.
The drug, already prescribed to those with Type 2 diabetes, was also found to help patients return to normal blood sugar levels.
Some 1.8 million of the 2.1 million people with diabetes in the UK have the Type 2 disease. It occurs when sufferers cannot produce enough insulin, or their bodies are unable to use the hormone to turn sugars into body fuel in the normal way.
Dr Hertzel Gerstein, of the Population Health Research Institute in Hamilton, Ontario, who led the study, said: "The results of this study suggest that the addition of rosiglitazone to basic lifestyle recommendations substantially reduces the risk of developing diabetes by about two thirds, offering a novel preventive approach.
"Balancing both the benefits and the risks suggests that for every 1,000 people treated with rosiglitazone for three years, about 144 cases of diabetes will be prevented, with an excess of four to five cases of congestive heart failure."
Researchers involved in the trial investigated the effect of rosiglitazone on around 5,000 men and women aged over 30 from 21 countries who were at risk of developing diabetes because of blood sugar levels.
Half were given 8 mg doses of the drug and half were given placebos. All participants were given advice on exercise and diet.
After three years 280, or 10.6 per cent, of those taking rosiglitazone had progressed to Type 2 diabetes, compared to 658, or 25 per cent, of those on the placebo.
During the trial, 51 per cent of those taking the drug returned to normal blood sugar levels compared to 30 per cent of those on placebos.
Among those who took the drug 14 suffered non-fatal treatable heart failure, compared with only two in the placebo group.
Dr Bernard Zinman, professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, said: "The findings are significant as we are in the midst of an epidemic of Type 2 diabetes with global implications."
The findings were presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes conference in Copenhagen yesterday and published online by The Lancet.
Cathy Moulton, a care adviser at the charity Diabetes UK, said: "These results are interesting, but it would be wrong to assume that we can solve the epidemic of Type 2 diabetes by taking tablets.
"Studies in the US and Finland have shown that small lifestyle changes are effective in delaying or preventing Type 2 diabetes. Further research may show that the use of this drug will be of value to certain individuals."
I don't know why they feel obligated to throw in that little addendum at the end of medical articles.
"Tests indicate that splints and casts are very effective in helping to heal many long bone fractures, compared to not using them. However doctors emphasize that having proper diet and exercise are just as important to maintaining a healthy, fracture-free lifestyle."
Do a web search on health benefits of cinnamon.
Looks like it increases health risks.
OR they could stop eating carbs and lose 50 pounds. That would help, too.
Not all diabetics are overweight. I have cousins that are diabetic and they are skinny as rails.
Your cousins are unusual. The vast majority of Type II Diabetes patients are overweight.
preacher: good mention of cinnamon. I've known about it for a while, and a pre-diabetic friend has it on his mid-morning banana every day, and it definitely helps.
N.B.: there are two different barks sold as "cinnamon".
"The cinnamon we are most accustomed to using as a spice is not the same cinnamon used to treat type 2 diabetes. Another type of cinnamon, Cinnamomum cassia (Chinese cinnamon), has only been found to benefit type 2 (not type 1) diabetics."
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