Diabetes drug goes under microscope

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Some call it a miracle diabetes drug, while others call it nothing but bad medicine. Avandia is once again going under the microscope.

James Mihalko has has diabetes. He's heard the recent renewal of concern about the drug Avandia, or Rosiglitazone.

"You know, with any drug that you're taking, there might be side effects and stuff. You just hope that it's nothing serious that in the drug that you're taking," said Mihalko.

He doesn't take Avandia, but many diabetics do, and leading experts agree that it provides significant benefits for certain patients.

Dr. Paresh Dandona, Director of the Diabetes-Endocrinology Center of Western New York, said, "You've got a host of things available and then you pick and choose whatever is appropriate for your specific patient."

But three years ago, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine claimed that Avandia caused increased risk of heart attack. The report made many people anxious.

"By the time I came to the center in the morning, there'd already been about ten e-mails that had been sent to me. One of the emails was sent at three in the morning, so somebody was alarmed enough to do that," said Dr. Dandona.

Dr. Dandona is also a distinguished professor of medicine at U.B. He was skeptical of the report and so were most others.

"A lot of critical analysis of this paper have been made and this claim is not sustained or sustainable," said Dr. Dandona.

But the claim has persisted and recently resurfaced. Some physicians have stopped prescribing Avandia, perhaps for fear of being sued. But Dr. Dandona believes it is a useful drug.

Dr. Dandona explained, "There is no hard objective evidence that Avandia does cause harm, in spite of the television ads by some lawyers in our community."

He points out that if a diabetic is having sleepless nights worrying that taking Avandia may cause a heart attack, he's certainly willing to switch to another medication, but the key here is if you're taking Avandia and you're afraid, don't just stop. Controlling your blood sugar is really crucial, so talk to your doctor.

Every drug has some side effects and they differ from person to person. For many diabetics, Avandia is the drug that controls their sugar and doesn't bother them in other ways.