Free Republic

By now, readers of Obesity Panacea (which just celebrated its 1 year anniversary!) have hopefully learned that excess weight is not directly predictive of health risk, and that excess fat mass is not in itself unhealthy. Recall that approximately 30% of individuals who are classified as obese by their body weight turn out to be metabolically healthy, and in fact seem not to get much metabolic benefit (or may even get worse) when they lose weight. Also consider that individuals who have NO fat tissue (e.g. lipodystrophy) have extremely elevated metabolic risk factors, meanwhile others who can apparently indefinitely grow...

A molecular pathway could explain how a class of drugs leads to heart failure. Researchers who study how tumours balloon in size have discovered one way that enlargement of the heart can lead to heart failure. The work, although mostly done in mice, could help explain why a class of diabetes drugs called thiazolidinediones (TZDs) increase the risk of heart failure.These drugs have been controversial since a 2007 analysis1 of Avandia (rosiglitazone), a TZD made by GlaxoSmithKline, suggested that patients taking it are at increased risk of heart attack. Less controversial are data linking TZDs with heart failure, a distinct...

NEW YORK — Treatment with a thiazolidinedione, either pioglitazone or rosiglitazone, has been linked to an increased rate of bone fractures, particularly in women, in several recently published reports. Although a definitive link between these drugs and an increased fracture risk has not yet been proved, the evidence amassed so far is suggestive enough to prompt caution in the treatment of patients with a thiazolidinedione (TZD), Dr. Robert G. Josse said at a meeting sponsored by the American Diabetes Association. “In those with a higher fracture risk, consider other hypoglycemic therapy,” advised Dr. Josse, professor of medicine and nutritional sciences...