Diabetes Drugs Avandia, Actos Linked to Vision Woes

MONDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) ? British researchers report
that thiazolidinediones, diabetes medications that are used to help
control blood sugar levels, may cause eye problems in those who take
them.

The drugs that fall into this group include Avandia and Actos, which
have been tied to increased risk of heart attack in the case of Avandia
and bladder cancer in the case of Actos. Now it is possible that these
drugs may also cause diabetic macular edema, the study authors said.

?Patients who received a thiazolidinedione were at two- to three-fold
increased risk of developing macular edema,? said lead researcher Dr.
Iskandar Idris, an associate professor in diabetes medicine at the
University of Nottingham.

However, the risk of macular edema is very small, about 0.2 percent, so
the increased relative risk translates into an absolute risk of less than
1 percent.

?More aggressive management of risk factors for macular edema should be
implemented in patients who take thiazolidinedione. In addition, routine
screening for visual acuity should be performed during routine diabetes
review, especially for patients who take thiazolidinediones,? he
added.

The report was published in the June 11 online edition of the
Archives of Internal Medicine.

For the study, Idris? team collected data on more than 100,000 people
with type 2 diabetes included in the British Health Improvement Network
database.

At the start of the study, none of these patients suffered from
diabetic macular edema, the researchers noted.

After one year, 1.3 percent of patients taking thiazolidinedione
developed diabetic macular edema, compared with 0.2 percent of those not
taking these drugs, Idris? group found.

The association was seen whether patients were taking Actos
(pioglitazone) or Avandia (rosiglitazone), they added.

Macular edema is a swelling of the part or the eye called the macula,
which is responsible for sharp vision when looking straight ahead.

Swelling occurs when fluid leaks into the center of the macula,
blurring vision. About 20 percent of people with diabetes have this
problem, the researchers noted.

For people taking these drugs there are alternatives that effectively
lower blood sugar, such as metformin and insulin.

Dr. Sonal Singh, an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine, in Baltimore, and co-author of an
accompanying journal editorial, said that ?the major limitation of this
study is the inability to completely separate out whether the effect of
these drugs on macular edema is due to the drug or the underlying
disease ? diabetes.?

However, the study adds more weight to the concern that Avandia and
Actos may cause fluid buildup behind the eyes, he said.

?Clinicians and patients need to balance the benefits of these drugs on
lowering blood sugar against their risks,? Singh said. ?Despite this
uncertainty, patients with diabetes should seek prompt referral to an eye
doctor if patients experience visual symptoms while taking Avandia or
Actos.?

More information

For more on hypertension, visit the American Diabetes Association.

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/diabetes-drugs-avandia-actos-linked-vision-woes-200607776.html

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