Deaths linked to diabetes drug Avandia
Say it with me: 'Avandia not to blame for deaths in trial.'
There. Now don't you feel reassured?
When a segment of a major type 2 diabetes trial was recently shut down because of a disproportionate number of deaths in the intervention group, researchers (funded by the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute) were quick to point out that the diabetes drug Avandia [rosiglitazone] was not to blame for the deaths.
And Reuters news service played right along, putting this headline over its report: 'Avandia not to blame for deaths in trial, US says.'
Hey! Everyone is saying it - it must be true!
Dangers of Avandia: I can't hear you
Researchers had an interesting idea: Let's take thousands of longtime type 2 diabetics with a high risk of heart attack or stroke, divide them into two groups, give one group standard care, and give the other group multiple drugs in a highly aggressive regimen to force their blood sugar down to normal, non-diabetic levels.
Turns out, this was a killer idea. Literally.
The trial was halted when the number of deaths (257) in the aggressive intervention group far exceeded deaths (203) in the standard care group. Drugs used in the aggressive care group included Avandia, metformin, Actos, or insulins. Doctors made individual decisions for each subject about what combination of drugs to prescribe.
The Reuters article notes that just last year a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analysis linked Avandia to a 43 percent higher risk of heart attack
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