Thiazolidinediones may double risk of bone fractures in women with type 2 diabetes, research suggests

Got this from one of my pharmaceutical newsletters. I’m not type 2 and don’t know much about these drugs, but thought it might be applicable to some people here:

USA Today (12/10, Marcus) reports, “Long-term use of a popular class of oral diabetes drugs doubles the risk of bone fractures in women with type 2 diabetes,” according to research published online in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Approximately “14,000 patients were involved in the studies analyzed by study co-author Sonal Singh, assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest, and his colleagues.” The researchers “reviewed 10 previous drug trials, for every 20 women in their 70s with type 2 diabetes who took thiazolidinediones – rosiglitgizone (brand name Avandia) and pioglitazone (brand name Actos) – for at least one year, one of them has a chance of suffering a fracture.” Furthermore, “in women in their mid-50s, the figure equals one fracture in every 55 women. That’s more than double the normal risk for those age groups.”

BBC News (12/10) adds that “the European Medicines Agency carried out a safety review of rosiglitazone and pioglitzone last year, and concluded their benefits outweighed their risks.” However, “the researchers argued the drugs had relatively modest therapeutic effects, and the regulators should think again.” Lead researcher Dr. Yoon Loke acknowledged that “the underlying cause of the effect of thiazolidinediones was unclear, and required further research.”

USA Today link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-12-09-diabetes-actos-avandia_N.htm

BBC News link: http://links.mkt1066.com/ctt?kn=71&m=3602720&r=MzcyOTYzNTczMQS2&b=0&j=MTA1MzM1MTk3S0&mt=1&rt=0