Depression drugs linked to diabetes

From the Edmonton Sun:
People using two specific kinds of antidepressants are at a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, says a University of Alberta PhD candidate.

Lauren Brown, 29, has studied the relationship between depression and diabetes for several years.

Her previous research showed that people are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes if they are clinically depressed, and prompted her to investigate whether antidepressants trigger the disease.

In a paper recently published in the Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice journal, she concludes that people using two specific types of drug - selective serotonin re- uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) - are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. ...more

Langley pharmacist offers special care to diabetic patients

From the Vancouver Sun:
Newly diagnosed diabetic patients can find themselves adrift in a sea of information, and overwhelmed with the new regimen they have to follow in order to enjoy a good quality of life.

They're faced with critical health issues. They must learn how to control and monitor their blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. They also have to deal with a number of secondary health priorities, like eye, kidney and foot disease. It can be a struggle, and because diabetes is a complicated and progressive disease, many patients need expert help to reach their target health goals.

Constant mentorship is what some pharmacists can offer. "It's like having a diabetes coach," says Shakeel Bhatti, a pharmacist who specializes in diabetic care. ...more

Take statins, almost all diabetics are urged

From the Montreal Gazette:
Almost all of the more than 2 million Canadians with diabetes should be taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, according to a major new study.

Researchers who pooled data from 14 studies involving more than 90,000 people say cholesterol reducers known as statins lower the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with diabetes by about one-third - even in those whose risk of a major "vascular event" is as low as one per cent per year.

Reporting today in the journal The Lancet, researchers say their study shows "convincingly" most people with diabetes should consider taking statins.

"I know it sounds drastic but this is a group of people we can't be complacent about," says Colin Baigent, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Oxford and a member of the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists' Collaborators. ...more

New drug good news for diabetics

From the London (Ont.) Free Press:
Peter Gardner knows all about the challenges of managing Type 2 diabetes -- he's been doing it for seven years.

The Londoner, in his 60s, is among the nearly two million Canadians who got some good news recently when Health Canada approved a new class of oral medications for Type 2 diabetes that will help patients control their blood sugar levels without gaining weight, a common problem.

The drugs -- called DPP-4 inhibitors -- also are not associated with hypoglycemia -- dangerously low blood sugar levels that can prove as lethal as skyrocketing levels.

And with a recent study showing 50 per cent of Canadians with Type 2 diabetes are not meeting their blood sugar goals, Dr. Irene Hramiak of St. Joseph's Health Care London said the new inhibitors are a welcome weapon in battling what has become the leading cause of death by disease in North America. ...more

Feeling left behind

This isn't a Canadian article per se, but it is a pharmacy story. I remember dealing with a similar patient a few years ago. It was an interesting conversation. He made almost the exact same comments compared to the quotes in this article.

From the Indianapolis Star:
In his refrigerator, Glenn Vogel keeps a shelf clear to hold up to 90 bottles of pork insulin, a six-month supply, to treat his diabetes.

When the supply dwindles to a dozen bottles and a new shipment from Europe hasn't arrived, he will spend hours, sometimes days, on the phone, calling the manufacturer, the shipper, the Food and Drug Administration, even his congressman.

"It's a day-to-day struggle," said Vogel, 47, a diabetic from Fullerton, Calif., who swears by the pork insulin for keeping his blood-sugar levels on an even keel. "I need this to stay alive. It's as important to me as oxygen." ...more

Diabetes drug should remain on market: advisers

From CTV News:
The widely used diabetes drug Avandia should remain on the market, U.S. government health advisers recommended Monday. They say evidence of an increased risk of heart attack from taking GlaxoSmithKline's Canadian-manufactured drug doesn't merit removal.

The nonbinding recommendation to the Food and Drug Administration came on a majority vote by the panel.

"We're being asked today to take a very draconian action based on studies that have very significant weaknesses and are inadequate for us to make that kind of decision," said Rebecca Killion, a Bowie, Md., diabetic and the panel's patient representative. ...more

Two Diabetes Drugs Double Heart Failure Risk: Study

From the Washington Post:

Patients taking either of the diabetes drugs Avandia or Actos face twice the risk of developing heart failure compared to people not on the popular medications, a new study finds.

This means for every 50 patients with type 2 diabetes taking these drugs, one patient will develop heart failure within 26 months, according to the report released Friday and published in the August issue of Diabetes Care.

"Both Avandia and Actos double the risk of heart failure," concluded the lead author of the first study, Dr. Sonal Singh, an assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. "We know these drugs increase the risk, but we found the risk is more substantial than suspected. This occurs at even the lowest dose and among young patients." ...more

Older, cheaper diabetes drugs as good as newer

From CTV News:
Older and cheaper pills are just as effective for treating diabetes as some of the more expensive new drugs, researchers report in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The findings are good news for diabetics who have trouble affording their medication and could further hurt sales of newer and heavily-marketed drugs, such as Avandia.

Researchers, led by Dr. Shari Bolen of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, read through 216 published studies and two systematic reviews. Their comparison of 10 diabetes drugs showed they all worked well to reduce levels of glucose in the blood, though each has its drawbacks, the researchers found.

One of the best medications was metformin, sold under the brand name Glucophage and Glumetza as well as generically, for about US$100 a year. It works just as well as other diabetes pills but does not cause weight gain or too-low blood sugar, the analysis found. It also lowers LDL or bad cholesterol. ...more

Diabetes drug linked to heart attacks

From the Toronto Star:
The widely prescribed diabetes drug Avandia is linked to a greater risk of heart attack and possibly death, a new scientific analysis revealed, prompting the U.S. government to issue a safety alert yesterday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration urged diabetics taking the pill to talk to their doctors, but stopped short of forcing a sharper warning label on the drug sold by GlaxoSmithKline PLC of London.

More than six million people worldwide have taken the drug since it came on the market eight years ago. Pooled results of dozens of studies revealed a 43 per cent higher risk of heart attack, according to the review published by the New England Journal of Medicine. ...more

Association between Long-Term Treatment with ACTOS® (pioglitazone hydrochloride) Tablets for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Fractures in Women

From Health Canada:
Eli Lilly Canada, after consultation with Health Canada, would like to bring to your attention important safety information concerning ACTOS® (pioglitazone hydrochloride) tablets, used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus and the occurrence of bone fractures in female patients.
For health professionals
For the public