Actos as an Alternative Drug to Treat Diabetes

Actos
Drugs used to control blood sugar

Actos known for its benefit of controlling blood sugar level can also be a substitute for the drug Avandia which was banned last year to treat person who has diabetes according to latest research.

Authorities in Europe has banned Avandia or also known as Rosiglitzone but it is still widely available across United States and Canada.

The new discovery has been first published in the BMJ website were in researchers said that patients who are taking Actos reduce the percentage of developing heart failure. A statement was also given by the Diabetes UK saying that Actos is a very effective treatment for patients who have diabetes.

Both drugs the Rosiglitazone or Avandia and Pioglitazone or Actos are known to be used to control sugar levels of patients who have stage 2 Diabetes. But they also increase the risk of heart failure.

The University of East Anglia who conducted the study compared the risk (–foul word(s) removed–)ociated with each drug. After observing 800,000 patients and analyzing 16 studies they have concluded that Rosiglitazone or Avandia increased the risk of heart attack by 16%, heart failure by 23% and death by 14% which is higher compare to statistics of Pioglitazone or Actos.

Record shows that patients who are under the thiazolidinedione treatment and taking rosiglitazone or Avandia had increased the possibility of developing heart attacks, heart failure and mortality compared to Pioglitazone.

Dr. Yoon Loke one of the members who studied the two medicines in University of East Anglia said that for those people who have stopped taking rosiglitazone because of the imposed banned, they can use Actos as an alternative to treat them.

Although Actos was proven to be used as a substitute for Avandia still it has its own side effects, aside from it also increase the risk of heart failure, pioglitazone can lead to fractures in women, is being evaluated for risk in bladder cancer.

Clinical Advisor in Diabetes UK Deepa Khatri said that people with diabetes should have as much choices as possible.

Actos Drug are now available across Europe, But experts says that it is important that patients should consult first in their doctors to have appropriate medication that suits them.

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