A drug that is commonly prescribed to patients who have Type II diabetes may markedly increase their risk of heart attacks and even death, according to a new review study published in the online edition of this week's New England Journal of Medicine.
The study on the drug's side effects was rushed into circulation Monday by the journal. The new revelations are likely to leave the million or so patients taking the drug, Avandia, wondering what to do.
Type II is the most common type of diabetes.
Steven Nissen, head of the division of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, started investigating the oral drug Avandia after noticing a suggestion of problems in a medical article published last autumn.
He and a statistician combined the results of 42 trials of the drug. They found that it increased the risk of heart attacks by 43 percent — and of death from heart problems by 64 percent.
Once again the pharmaceutical companies have pushed a drug to be prescribed in large quantity only to find out it helps kill people. For all of the money those guys make peddling these drugs at a premium, you'd think they'd spend a little on R&D, but I guess that would cut into the marketing budget.
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