Glaxo diabetes drug raises heart risk in study

Another study has found evidence that certain diabetes drugs, especially Avandia, can cause heart attacks and death, but the company said the findings did not make scientific sense. The Canadian researchers said older patients treated with the drugs, known as thiazolidinediones, TZDs, or glitazones, had a significantly higher rate of death, heart attack and congestive heart failure and death. The medical records of 159,026 people aged 66 and older who were treated with diabetes pills for a median of 3.8 years through March 2006 showed a 60 percent increased risk of congestive heart failure, a 40 percent higher risk of heart attack, and a 29 percent higher risk of overall death among the patients who were taking Avandia alone. Glaxo said the study had “significant limitations and generates misleading conclusions.”

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/health-SP/idUSN1155319720071212?sp=true