Nothing in the pharmaceutical world can be termed as perfect. A perfect example is Actos which is known to lower the chances of heart attack, stroke or death in patients. Maybe this is the reason why people prefer Actos over its contemporary drug, Avandia. But, that’s just the good part. Actos is not ‘free’ from side effects either.
Researches have shown that Actos can cause non fatal heart failure. This side effect is also seen in Avandia. Although, the side effect is non fatal, it doesn’t eliminate the fact that such a thing can happen. This has led doctors to prescribe older and cheaper drugs in place of either Actos or Avandia.
Doctors are of the opinion that in the light of such results and findings, its better to prescribe drugs such as Metformin, which cost much lesser than either Actos or Avandia. Drugs like Metformin also are not very effective and they seem to stop working sometimes. This leads the doctor to either prescribe newer drugs or administer the patient insulin.
This is the first major study that has been conduced for Actos. The results of the study is due to be published in Journal of the American Medical Association, The results of the test are deduced from 16,000 test samples. The medicine was administered to patients who were previously on some drugs as well as some who were never on such drugs.
The study suggests that drugs like Actos and Avandia must have a label about its possible side effects. The editorial also indicates the need for a stricter regulation to prevent such side effects.
Only time will tell how these findings will help or hinder in the usage of these doctors.
Content source: Phillyburbs
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