Old diabetes drugs are just as effective as newer, more expensive drugs -- and they have fewer serious side effects.
That's the conclusion of an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality review of type 2 diabetes drug studies. The best of the old drugs appears to be metformin, sold under the brand name Glucophage. While the study didn't look at minor side effects, it did evaluate the critical ones, and found that older appears to be safer.
Thiazolidinediones -- including the newly-controversial Actos and
Avandia -- were linked to higher rates of congestive heart failure and severe drops in blood sugar, as were newer sulfonylureas, including
Glucotrol and Micronase.
While metformin was linked to minor stomach problems, it didn't cause the weight gain associated with other, older drugs, had the added bonus of reducing so-called bad cholesterol levels, and worked just as well as new drugs.
This doesn't mean that the new drugs aren't useful for some people, but it does suggest that doctors, when faced with an array of new drug options that they don't fully understand, would do well to stick with well-established treatments.
The findings also hint at a larger, more disturbing picture: diabetes is one of the most profitable markets out there, billions of dollars are spent developing new drugs to treat it -- and this is the best the pharmaceutical industry can do? In the next few days I'll ask some experts why this is. More to come....
Study: Older Diabetes Drugs Safe to Use [Associated Press]
Older Diabetes Drug Sometimes the Best Choice [HealthDay News]
Systematic Review: Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Oral
Medications for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus[Annals of Internal Medicine]
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Image: Merck*
