T_Dia
04-03-2008, 04:16 PM
A drug that is used to lower blood sugar in diabetics has been found to stop the build-up of plaque in coronary arteries, according to a recent Cleveland Clinic study.
The study compared the use of pioglitazone and glimepiride in patients with Type 2 diabetes. While both drugs lowered blood sugar levels, pioglitazone decreased coronary plaques while glimepiride progressed them. Pioglitazone also increased patients' good cholesterol and reduced triglycerides and inflammation in higher percentages than glimepiride.
Study authors say the results of the study underline the difference in the way the drugs work. Glimepiride lowers blood sugar by stimulating the body to make more insulin, but pioglitazone increases the body's response to insulin that it has already made. The study shows that pioglitazone's mechanism has a more dramatic biochemical effect.
"Now that we know the precise approach to lowering blood sugar does matter, we should reconsider our treatment goals for diabetes, perhaps focusing less attention on how much we lower blood sugar, and more attention on how we get there," said Steven E. Nissen, Chairman of Cleveland Clinic's Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and lead author of the study.
Full Article (http://www.wkyc.com/news/health/health_article.aspx?storyid=86327).
The study compared the use of pioglitazone and glimepiride in patients with Type 2 diabetes. While both drugs lowered blood sugar levels, pioglitazone decreased coronary plaques while glimepiride progressed them. Pioglitazone also increased patients' good cholesterol and reduced triglycerides and inflammation in higher percentages than glimepiride.
Study authors say the results of the study underline the difference in the way the drugs work. Glimepiride lowers blood sugar by stimulating the body to make more insulin, but pioglitazone increases the body's response to insulin that it has already made. The study shows that pioglitazone's mechanism has a more dramatic biochemical effect.
"Now that we know the precise approach to lowering blood sugar does matter, we should reconsider our treatment goals for diabetes, perhaps focusing less attention on how much we lower blood sugar, and more attention on how we get there," said Steven E. Nissen, Chairman of Cleveland Clinic's Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and lead author of the study.
Full Article (http://www.wkyc.com/news/health/health_article.aspx?storyid=86327).