T_Dia
04-13-2009, 02:50 PM
Using a database of about 170,000 patients with diabetes, Drs. Donald S. Fong and Richard Contreras of Southern California Permanente Medical Group analyzed the link between glitazones and the development of DME. Diabetic macular edema is a common diabetes complication, with swelling and fluid build-up in the retina leading to progressive visual loss.
The researchers identified 996 patients who were diagnosed with DME during 2006. Overall, patients who took glitazones were 2.6 times more likely to develop DME than patients not taking these drugs. Even after further adjustment for other factors, DME risk remained 60 percent higher for glitazone users.
Previous studies have linked glitazones to problems related to fluid retention and edema (swelling), including heart failure. Fluid retention from heart failure or other diseases can worsen DME. Most of the glitazone users in the study were taking pioglitazone (Actos). Other studies have linked rosiglitazone (Avandia)—the only other approved glitazone drug—to a possible increase in the risk of myocardial infarction.
Although the study is not the first to suggest a link, it provides confirmation in a very large sample of diabetic patients that glitazones are "modestly associated" with DME. Drs. Fong and Contreras concluded, "When treating patients with DME, ophthalmologists should consider the role of the glitazone class of drugs."
Full Article (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090402092855.htm).
The researchers identified 996 patients who were diagnosed with DME during 2006. Overall, patients who took glitazones were 2.6 times more likely to develop DME than patients not taking these drugs. Even after further adjustment for other factors, DME risk remained 60 percent higher for glitazone users.
Previous studies have linked glitazones to problems related to fluid retention and edema (swelling), including heart failure. Fluid retention from heart failure or other diseases can worsen DME. Most of the glitazone users in the study were taking pioglitazone (Actos). Other studies have linked rosiglitazone (Avandia)—the only other approved glitazone drug—to a possible increase in the risk of myocardial infarction.
Although the study is not the first to suggest a link, it provides confirmation in a very large sample of diabetic patients that glitazones are "modestly associated" with DME. Drs. Fong and Contreras concluded, "When treating patients with DME, ophthalmologists should consider the role of the glitazone class of drugs."
Full Article (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090402092855.htm).