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Avandia is the brand name for an anti-diabetic drug marketed by GlaxoSmithKline. It was approved by the FDA in 1999 and millions of Americans with diabetes take the drug to help control their blood sugar levels.
Avandia is used to treat Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, which is linked to obesity and afflicts 18 million Americans and 200 million people worldwide. This form of diabetes occurs when the body does not make enough insulin or cannot effectively use what it manages to produce. Avandia helps sensitize the body to insulin and was considered a breakthrough medication for blood-sugar control.
The widely prescribed diabetes drug Avandia has been linked to a greater risk of heart attack and possibly death, a new scientific analysis revealed, and the U.S. government has issued a safety alert.
In the findings of a study that will appear in the June 14, 2007 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Steven Nissen and his colleague Kathy Wolski, evaluated 42 studies that compared patients taking Avandia with patients not using the drug. The studies included nearly 28,000 patients, 15,560 of whom were taking Avandia. The researchers found the risk of a heart attack was increased 43 percent among those taking Avandia. There is also a 64 percent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular causes while taking the drug.
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