Irbesartan for Diabetes Complications The FDA has approved irbesartan (Generic Avapro®, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Synthelabo), an angiotensin II receptor blocker, for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy in patients with high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Research has shown that the hypertension drug helps to slow kidney disease in patients with diabetes and might be [...]
The possibility of fluid retention and congestive heart failure (CHF) have led to a label change for drug pioglitazone HCl (Generic Actos, Eli Lily) and rosiglitazone maleate (Generic Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline). Studies with both diabetes drugs turned up cases of CHF in patients taking either drug alone or with insulin. In a 16-week U.S. trial involving [...]
The FDA has approved generic metformin HCl extended-release tablets (Glucophage® XR, Bristol-Myers Squibb) in a new dosage strength of 750 mg for the treatment of type-2 diabetes. The 750-mg tablet was developed to provide physicians with an additional option to make titration to higher doses more convenient when necessary. Glucophage® XR is already available as [...]
The FDA’s Office of Orphan Products Development has granted an orphan drug designation for Serono’s Zorbtive™ (Somatropin [rDNA origin] for injection), a recombinant human growth hormone, for use in the treatment of short-bowel syndrome (SBS). SBS is a rare and potentially life-threatening condition that follows extensive surgical removal of portions of the small intestine as [...]
People with type-2 diabetes mellitus (non-insulin-dependent diabetes) and coronary artery disease (CAD), as well as patients with diabetes and any other risk for cardiovascular disease, should be taking cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins), according to new guidelines published by the American College of Physicians (ACP). Approximately 80% of people with type-2 diabetes experience or die of complications [...]
For patients with painful diabetic poly-neuropathy, treatment is often inadequate and is limited by systemic effects. But the 5% lidocaine patch has been found to significantly improve pain and quality-of-life outcomes, with minimal adverse drug events (ADEs) and no systemic accumulation of the drug. Researchers from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry [...]
“Pre-diabetes”—a condition that raises a person’s risk for the development of type-2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes, heart disease, and stroke—is far more common in the U.S. than previously believed. Approximately 40% of American adults aged 40 to 74 (41 million people) have above-normal blood glucose levels. Pre-diabetes often evolves into type-2 diabetes within 10 years. The new [...]
