Not all Diabetes Meds are Created Equal
Reported April 01, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in the inner lining of arteries) is particularly aggressive in patients with diabetes — aggressive enough to make cardiovascular disease the cause of death in about 75 percent of patients with diabetes.
Because atherosclerosis is such a deadly disease for patients with diabetes, pinpointing effective treatments is critical. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic studied the effects of two popular diabetes medications — pioglitazone (Actos) and glimepiride (Amaryl) — to determine which one was more effective.
A total of 543 patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary diseases were studied in a multi-center trail that included 97 hospitals across North and South America. The patients underwent vascular ultrasounds to measure the progression of atherosclerosis and were randomized to receive either pioglitazone or glimepiride for 18 months.
Data revealed pioglitazone is a more effective treatment for the progression of atherosclerosis. Patients randomized to pioglitazone exhibited a lower rate of progression of coronary atherosclerosis across a wide array or prespeicified and exploratory subgroups. These findings may have important implications for defining the optimal strategy for management or patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary atherosclerosis, study authors wrote.
Pioglitazone, which is in the thiazolidinedione class, is a relatively new drug, whereas glimepiride, which is in the sulfonylurea class, has been available for decades.
SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2008;299:1561-1573