Diabetes: December 2006 Archives

What's one of the most important rules in medicine? Never take a drug if a natural and safer remedy provides the same relief. Yet millions of people take cholesterol-lowering drugs to prevent heart attacks.

This therapy comes with a price. Patients can develop muscle cramps and liver and kidney problems and some have died.

Linus Pauling, a two-time Nobel Prize winner, says a high dose of vitamin C before breakfast is a smart way to start the day.

How much you take depends on your tolerance. Too much may cause diarrhea. But most people can tolerate 2,000 milligrams. Ascorbic acid powder (vitamin C) is the least expensive way to buy this vitamin. A flat teaspoon (5,000 mg) can be mixed with orange juice.

“It's something you constantly have to be diligent with,” said Pat Costello, a diabetic referring to her blood sugar levels.

Ten years ago Costello was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and with that, came changes in her lifestyle including diet, exercise and a series of medications. This regimen includes Byetta, an injectable drug which has been shown to lower blood sugar and also leads to weight loss. Now new research shows how another drug called Rimonabant, has similar effects, but is taken orally.

A new study comparing three major diabetes drugs -- Avandia, Glucophage (metformin), and Micronase (glyburide) -- shows that all three drugs have pros and cons to consider.

Patients and their doctors should weigh those potential risks and benefits when choosing between the drugs, the study concludes.

The research, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, looked at 4,360 adults with type 2 diabetes. That's the most common type of diabetes in adults.

Sanofi has reported positive results for Acomplia for type II diabetes. Acomplia has been tested for weight loss, but this is the first study in which the drug was tested by itself as a treatment of type II diabetes. Patients receiving Acomplia 20 mg per day for six months significantly lowered their HbA1c levels.

The data showed that Acomplia improved blood sugar control, reduced weight and acted on other cardiometabolic risk factors. Acomplia--which is set to achieve blockbuster status--has been approved as an obesity therapy in Europe, but recently the FDA requested more information on the drug, delaying approval in the U.S. by several months.