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AVANDIA WARNING
AVANDIA WARNING
ANCHOR LEAD: SHOULD PEOPLE STOP TAKING THE DIABETES MEDICATION CALLED AVANDIA? ELIZABETH TRACEY REPORTSRosaglitazone is a diabetes medication marketed as Avandia. The FDA has recently issued a warning about the drug, saying it causes an increase in the risk of heart attack in some patients who take it. Sherita Golden, a diabetes expert at Johns Hopkins, says she has never considered the drug a first choice in the management of diabetes.
GOLDEN: I think that this is still a drug that we consider here in the diabetes center to be a third line agent for the management of diabetes. We typically will start therapy with a sulfonylurea or metformin, and you can always add insulin therapy to that, and so I think typically, at least in my practice I’ve used a drug like Avandia when patients have a resistance to starting insulin therapy. :21
Golden says most patients with diabetes are carefully monitored for the development of heart problems since the condition itself is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but patients who are taking Avandia may require even more vigilance. I’m Elizabeth Tracey reporting.
