Diabetes drug also reduces risk of heart attacks, say researchers

By JENNY HOPE

Last updated at 16:34 31 March 2008


heart attack

A new glucose-lowering drug used in diabetics also cuts the build-up of plaque in the arteries, say researchers.

A reduction in atherosclerosis or the "furring up" of the arteries could lower the risk of heart attacks, which are more likely to be fatal in patients with diabetes.

Findings from a study are the first to show the drug Actos, also known as pioglitazone, has an effect on atherosclerosis, according to British experts.

They were presented at the annual conference of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago and are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

More than 540 patients with type 2 diabetes in North and South America took part in the trial.

It compared a standard glucose-lowering medication called glimepiride with Actos, which belongs to a new class of anti-diabetic therapy being taken by about one million Britons with diabetes.

The patients had an ultrasound examination to measure levels of atherosclerosis at the start of the study and they were then randomly assigned to receive Actos or glimepiride for 18 months.

The change in plaque build-up in an artery was measured with repeat ultrasonography in 360 patients at the end of the study.

The plaque build-up increased 0.73 percent in the glimepiride group but fell slightly in those taking Actos.

Another form of measurement found the thickness of the plaque increased in the glimepiride group and decreased in the Actos group.

Dr Steven Nissen, who led the trial at the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, said: "This is the first demonstration of the ability of any hypoglycemic agent to slow the progression of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with diabetes.

"These findings may have important implications for defining the optimal strategy for management of patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary atherosclerosis."

Professor Mark Kearney, scienntific director of the Division of Cardiovascular and Diabetes Research at Leeds University, said heart attacks caused the deaths of thousands of diabetics each year.

He said: "Half of women with diabetes having a heart attack will die within 18 months - the mortality rate is worse than breast cancer.

"It's a terrible situation that needs to change. If we can prevent the atherosclerosis from rupturing and causing a clot, then we can prevent fatal heart attacks.

"This drug could be a fundamental step forward in managing diabetes if we can not only lower blood sugar but reverse or stabilise atherosclerosis," he added.

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