What You Need to Know About Avandia
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Avandia
Diabetes Day to Day
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Johns Hopkins University
What You Need to Know About Avandia
Posted by Christine McKinney, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.
on Tue, Apr 03, 2007, 1:07 pm PDT
The FDA recently announced that the oral diabetes medication Avandia
(rosiglitazone) is associated with an increased risk in bone fractures
in females. Manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, Avandia works by increasing
the body’s sensitivity to insulin. It is used only in patients with type
2 diabetes.
This finding about fractures in women was discovered during a study
comparing Avandia to metformin and glyburide. The study, which began in
2002, involved more than 4,000 patients recently diagnosed with type 2
diabetes who were to be followed for four to six years. Female patients
taking Avandia were found to have significantly more fractures than
females taking metformin or glyburide. This was not true for male patients.
Unlike postmenopausal fractures, which usually occur at the hip or
spine, the study participants’ fractures were most common in the hand,
foot, or upper arm. The reason for the increased risk of fractures with
Avandia is not known at this time. The final study results will not be
available until 2009.
Be aware that Avandia is also included in combination diabetes
medications like Avandamet (rosiglitazone and metformin) and Avandaryl
(rosiglitazone and glimepiride).
If you are at risk for thin bones or osteoporosis and take Avandia, talk
with your doctor. Risk factors for osteoporosis include:
* Female gender
* Asian or Caucasian race
* Lower body weight or thin bone frame, or both
* Smoking
* Low dietary calcium intake
* Family history of osteoporosis
* History of fractures as an adult