New treatment for type 2 diabetes puts insulin ba...( Brussels Belgium 28 September 1999:...),Health

Brussels, Belgium, 28 September 1999: New data presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual conference show that rosiglitazone the new treatment for type 2 diabetes gives individuals with this disease long-term control of their blood glucose levels by reducing one of the fundamental defects of this devastating condition.

Rosiglitazone is a novel oral anti-diabetic treatment that works by reducing insulin resistance a defect where cells respond poorly to insulin, causing blood glucose levels to rise. Insulin resistance is not only a fundamental defect in type 2 diabetes it is also commonly associated with a cluster of other conditions, including coronary heart disease and high blood pressure.(1)

"Unlike most traditional drugs for type 2 diabetes, rosiglitazone works in a novel way to reduce insulin resistance, helping the bodys own insulin work more effectively and offering patients improved glycaemic control, as measured by fasting plasma glucose. The hope is that this will slow long-term deterioration," said Dr David Matthews of the Oxford Diabetes and Endocrinology Centre, Oxford, UK.

The new studies highlight the following important effects of rosiglitazone on insulin action:

Rosiglitazone reduces insulin resistance . Using an indirect method of analysis, which calculates insulin resistance without invasive tests, investigators reported that rosiglitazone (8 mg/day) alone reduced insulin resistance in individuals with type 2 diabetes by 33%, compared with placebo, in just 26 weeks. Rosiglitazone was also added to existing treatment with an oral anti-diabetes drug (a sulphonylurea). In this study, 493 type 2 diabetes patients, including those who were new to drug therapy and others who had been previously treated with diabetes drugs, were given either placebo or rosiglitazone monotherapy. Rosiglitazone was also compared to placebo in combination with sulphonylurea. Continued sulphonylurea tr
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Contact: Susie Hackett/Alexa Osman
susie@meditech.co.uk
MediTech Media Ltd.
28-Sep-1999