Why Some Diabetes Drugs Increase Risk of Heart Failure

Filed in archive Developments , Research on September 17, 2007

Diabetes drugs that are agonists of the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) gamma such as pioglitazone and rosiglitazone are associated with increased risk of heart failure.

Remember the case of the controversial diabetes drug Avandia®? Exactly the case!

But why agonists of PPAR gamma can increase risk of heart failure in some patients being treated with it is potentially explained by a new mice study by a team from Columbia University in New York:

Fat and carbohydrates accumulated in the heart muscle cells of these mice causing a deterioration in heart function (a process known as glucolipotoxicity).

Administration of a PPAR-gamma agonist to these mice exacerbated their heart dysfunction.

The authors therefore conclude that the adverse effect of PPAR-gamma agonists on heart function in humans might be due to glucolipotoxocity.

Example of pioglitazone is Takeda Pharma's Actos® while rosiglitazone is the controversial Avandia® by GlaxoSmithKline.

Remember that both drugs is not for all type 2 diabetics.

Findings appear in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Source: Science Daily