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Produced by the drug maker GlaxoSmithKline, Avandia® (generically known as rosiglitazone maleate) is an oral diabetes medication that increases the sensitivity of insulin receptors to improve control of blood sugar levels. Not indicated for the treatment of type-1 diabetes, Avandia can be used in combination with insulin and other medications for patients with type-2 diabetes. However, despite its effectiveness at regulating type-2 diabetes, some studies have shown that the Avandia® drug can put patients at risk of developing serious, and potentially fatal, side-effects. A variety of very serious side-effects including death, heart attack, congestive heart failure, and bone fractures have been linked to Avandia®.  On May 21, 2007, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning which highlighted the following: safety data obtained from clinical trials suggested a potentially significant increase in the risk of heart attack and heart-related deaths in patients taking Avandia®. The FDA’s words followed in the wake of a clinical study that compared Avandia® to other forms of treatment for diabetes. The study – which appeared in the New English Journal of Medicine – revealed that Avandia® might possibly increase the risk of heart attack by more than 40 percent, and may increase the risk of death from heart disease by more than 60 percent. A paper appearing in the November 24, 2008 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, revealed that a study of nearly 30,000 individuals who were over the age of 65, and who were diabetic, demonstrated the following: Of those individuals, 49.7 per cent were prescribed Avandia® and 50.3 per cent were prescribed another drug to control their levels of insulin: Actos®. Twelve months later, 1,869 of the patients were dead. The research team concluded that the patients prescribed Avandia® had a death-rate 15-percent greater than in those patients who had been prescribed Actos®. Furthermore, it was suggested the risk of heart failure in those prescribed Avandia® was 13-percent greater than in those prescribed Actos®.  In 2008 the Archives of Internal Medicine published the findings of a Swiss study of British diabetics who had been prescribed Avandia® for at least a year. They concluded that the risk of suffering from bone-fractures was nearly twice that of those patients not taking Avandia®. Avandia® Drug Although the Avandia® drug is primarily used in the treatment of type-2 diabetes, ongoing studies have revealed other possible Avandia uses to include treating: - Alzheimer's disease
- General inflammation (Avandia® has anti-inflammatory properties)
- Ulcerative colitis, a condition in which ulcers (open sores) affect the health and function of the large intestines and/or colon Clinical trials are still underway to find out how effective Avandia® can be in the treatment of these and other conditions.
If You Have Been Injured by Avandia® Have you or a loved one been injured after taking Avandia®? For a free evaluation of your potential claim, call 1-888-446-8087, or fill out an intake form on this website by clicking on "Can We Help You?" on the upper right hand corner of the home page. Let DrugRxRecall help you win the compensation you need and deserve.
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