Study: New drug boosts effectiveness of diabetes drug

Tuesday, April 4th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

CHICAGO (AP) -- A drug chemically related to Rezulin, the diabetes drug recently linked to 61 deaths, can significantly improve the health of some diabetics when used in combination with a commonly prescribed medicine, a study found.

The drug, rosiglitazone, is believed to be safer than Rezulin, which was withdrawn from the market last month after it was linked to liver damage.

The new study of 348 people with adult-onset diabetes found no liver problems among patients who took rosiglitazone along with the standard drug metformin hydrochloride for six months.

About 14 million Americans have adult-onset, or type 2,diabetes. It impedes the body's ability to produce and use insulin, a hormone that processes blood sugar. Diabetes can lead to kidney failure, blindness and nerve damage.

The study, published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, found that three times more patients taking 8mg of rosiglitazone in addition to those taking only metformin.

Metformin, sold as Glucophage, reduces sugar produced by the liver.

Rosiglitazone, sold as Avandia, makes the body more sensitive to insulin.

The study was funded by SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, which makes Avandia.

Dr. David Nathan, a diabetes expert at Harvard Medical School, said the combination studied appears to be a good substitute treatment.

He said the benefits noted in the study were "modest, not huge" and not surprising given that previous research showed Rezulin and metformin worked better together than alone.

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On the Net:
American Diabetes Association http://www.diabetes.org/ada/facts.asp