Drug found to delay type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes patients can now look forward to the potential prevention of complications of said disease after an international study found out that rosiglitazone maleate has successfully reduced the risk of monotherapy failure in people who have the disease.

Results from ADOPT (A Diabetes Outcome Progression Trial) demonstrated that initial treatment with rosiglitazone maleate reduced the risk of monotherapy failure in people with type 2 diabetes by 32 percent compared to metformin, and 63 percent compared to glyburide at five years.

The results of this international study involving 4,360 people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were presented at the 19th World Diabetes Congress of the International Diabetes Federation in South Africa recently.

Rosiglitazone was more effective than metformin or glyburide in delaying the progressive loss of blood sugar control, as measured in the study by fasting plasma glucose and hemoglobin levels.

The primary reasons for loss of blood sugar control are increasing insulin resistance and declining beta-cell function. ADOPT demonstrated that rosiglitazone significantly improved insulin sensitivity and reduced the rate of loss of beta-cell function.

This is the first long-term study to demonstrate that the progressive loss of blood sugar control can be delayed and target blood sugar levels can be maintained for a longer period with rosiglitazone than with metformin and glyburide - the two most frequently prescribed oral antidiabetic agents," said Dr. Gerry Tan, an endocrinologist in Cebu.

Tan said that based on their records diabetes has been considered as the fourth cause of mortality in the country wherein records showed that at least 2.8 million people have the disease.

"In ADOPT, we have clear evidence from a large international study that the initial use of rosiglitazone is more effective than standard therapies for type 2 diabetes in maintaining blood sugar control," Tan said.

The more durable effect on blood sugar with rosiglitazone was also consistent with greater improvements in core defects of the disease, including significant effects on insulin resistance and beta-cell function, it was learned. ADOPT provides an important update to findings from the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study released in 1998, which preceded availability of thiazolidinediones (TZDs) and included only two of the three oral agents evaluated in ADOPT - metformin and sulfonylurea.

Type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease that occurs when the body fails to effectively respond to insulin, produced by beta cells to control blood sugar levels.

In ADOPT, rosiglitazone was reported to be generally well tolerated among the large cohort of people with type 2 diabetes who were followed for up to six years. There was no significant difference between the rosiglitazone and metformin groups in treatment discontinuation, but the rate was higher for the glyburide group (44 percent in the glyburide group; 38 percent in the metformin group; 37 percent in the rosiglitazone group).

Keeping blood sugar levels in control is important in preventing diabetes-related conditions such as eye disease (blindness), kidney disease (kidney failure/dialysis), nerve damage, amputation, heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease.

Such complications can decrease a person's quality of life and result in increased health care costs. Untreated diabetes can lead to death. Every ten seconds, a person dies from diabetes-related causes. - Jasmin R. Uy/MEEV