UK diabetologist bares study results

There was much excitement and hope in the Philippine medical community recently when leading UK diabetologist, Prof. Peter Grant, visited Manila to discuss the role of thiazolidinediones in delaying diabetes progression, as shown in the results of a landmark study, A Diabetes Outcome Progression Trial (ADOPT).

The results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that initial treatment with rosiglitazone maleate, which belongs to the thiazolidinedione (TZD) class of drugs, reduced the risk of monotherapy failure in people with type 2 diabetes by as much as 32 percent, compared to metformin, and 63 percent compared to glyburide (a sulfonylurea available as glibenclamide locally) in five years.

This means that the progressive loss of blood sugar control can be delayed and desired blood sugar levels can be maintained for a longer period through rosiglitazone maleate therapy.

Grant, who heads the academic unit of molecular vascular medicine at the University of Leeds in the UK, said the tight relationship between insulin resistance and vascular outcomes suggests that management of insulin resistance would prevent type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Reacting to the landmark study, Dr. Joven Tanchuco, GlaxoSmithKline medical director, said, "This is definitely good news for Filipinos with type 2 diabetes. The value of early detection and aggressive management cannot be overemphasized as complications of diabetes can be potentially prevented. The results from ADOPT tell us there is now a better way to achieve this."