Groundbreaking Study Shows Avandia Reduces Risk Of Diabetes

A three-year, international trial involving 191 clinics in 21 countries demonstrates that diabetes may be held at bay with preventative drug therapy. The study known as DREAM (Diabetes Reduction Assessment with ramipril and rosiglitazone medication) showed that combining Avandia (rosigliatazone) with a healthier lifestyle, helps people who are at high risk for getting diabetes, by lowering their chances of ever getting the disease. The results were presented Sept. 15, 2006 in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

Rosigliatazone is one of the class of drugs known as thiazolidinediones. It is currently used to help people with Type 2 diabetes keep their glucose levels under control. It works by sensitizing muscle and fat cells to accept insulin more readily. This class of drug as also been shown to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels as well as blood pressure.

The study included 5,269 people worldwide whose average age was 55 and whose glucose levels had been rising but were not yet diagnosed with diabetes. (a pre-diabetic state). The study also trialed the ACE Inhibitor Ramipril, both alone and in combination with Rosiglitazone due to the high correlation between diabetes and cardiovascular changes. Ramipril, used to control high blood pressure, was found not to prevent diabetes, but still appeared to keep glucose levels close to normal.

It was also announced that more than 5% of adults world-wide have Type 2 diabetes. The rate is rising around the world. The DREAM trial was led by the Population Health Research Institute at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.