Researchers analyzed 19 clinical trials of the drug Actos and concluded that the medicine carries cardiovascular benefits not seen in other diabetes drugs.
With the associated risks of cardiovascular diseases associated with both these drugs, the report suggested that Actos should be preferred to Avandia after when the older drugs like Metformin lose effectiveness.
Dr. A. Michael Lincoff, who co-authored the Actos study with Cleveland Clinic colleague, Dr. Steven Nissen said, "Actos is a drug that clearly I think is preferable."
The report, published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, is the biggest to date on Actos. Researchers analyzed 19 rigorous studies involving more than 16,000 people and found that Actos patients had an 18 percent reduced risk of death, heart attack or stroke when compared with patients taking other diabetes drugs or none.
About 15 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes and Actos and Avandia are two most popular drugs used in it. The two drugs have been used by more than 7 million patients since they were introduced in 1999.
Both control blood sugar by improving the body's sensitivity to insulin. Though Avandia can increase levels of LDL cholesterol, the bad kind, Actos can increase HDL cholesterol, the good kind. It can also lower triglyceride.
