Diabetes Drug Keeps Arteries Healthy

Ivanhoe Newswire
Tuesday, November 14, 2006; 12:00 AM

By Julie Marks, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent

CHICAGO (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A drug commonly used by people with diabetes may also stop the progression of artery narrowing.

Researchers presented the results of their 18-month study at the American Heart Association's late-breaking clinical trials session in Chicago. They studied 462 patients with type 2 diabetes. The patients received one of three doses of the drug pioglitazone (Actos) or one of three doses of the drug glimepiride (Amaryl).

Results showed pioglitazone stopped the lining of neck arteries that carry blood to the brain from thickening. Researchers say this is important because such thickening is a marker for artery-clogging plaque, known as atherosclerosis, throughout the body.

"If supported by additional research, these finding would indicate that pioglitazone can delay the progression of atherosclerosis in patients with diabetes," said Theodore Mazzone, M.D., from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Dr. Mazzone said the findings are particularly significant because the benefits were found in patients whose blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels were at or near the suggested targets. This drug now offers a potential way to manage cardiovascular risks in patients with diabetes.

"People with diabetes do much worse after a heart attack or stroke than those without diabetes, and they die more frequently," Dr. Mazzone said. "We have learned a lot about managing cardiovascular risk in people with diabetes using blood pressure and lipid medications, but still, more needs to be done. So we need to evaluate novel approaches like this one."

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SOURCE: Julie Marks at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2006 in Chicago, Nov. 12-15, 2006