About Avandia Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes

Since its approval in 1999, Avandia, a treatment for type 2 diabetes, has been prescribed to more than 6 million patients. Avandia (rosiglitazone) is an oral medication that comes in two other combinations:

• Avandment — combines Avandia and metformin in a single pill
• Avandaryl — combines Avandia and glimepiride in a single pill

Avandia is specifically designed to treat type II diabetes, which is the most common form of diabetes and affects millions of individuals worldwide. This serious chronic illness, linked to obesity, is characterized by high blood sugar (glucose) levels as a result of defects in insulin secretion, action or both and lack of sensitivity to insulin by the cells of the body, particularly fat and muscle cells. Insulin is an essential hormone made by the pancreas to control blood sugar levels. Type 2 diabetes affects more than 20 million Americans and is the leading cause of coronary heart disease, blindness, kidney failure and limb amputation.

According to the manufacturer of the drug, rather than encouraging the body to make more insulin, Avandia assists the body in using its own natural insulin more efficiently, thus improving insulin sensitivity and lowering blood sugar levels. In addition, Avandia keeps the liver from overproducing glucose. Avandia, along with diet and exercise, can be taken alone or in combination with other types of diabetes pills to further improve blood sugar control.

Avandia is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Since its introduction to the market, Avandia has been the most-studied medicine for type 2 diabetes. Although most clinical trials of Avandia have been inconclusive, the FDA has updated the product label on several occasions to reflect new data and health risks associated with Avandia side effects. The most recent study, which indicates a disturbingly high risk of congestive heart failure in patients using Avandia, has reignited a controversy and initiated a slew of personal injury cases, which may lead to an Avandia recall. Meanwhile, GlaxoSmithKline claims that it has studied Avandia extensively and that "scientific evidence does not establish that Avandia increases" the risk of heart failure.

In the late 1990s and up to 2007, Avandia was one of the biggest-selling drugs in the world. An estimated 6 million people worldwide used the drug, and its sales reached more than $3 billion in 2006 alone. Although Avandia sales have since seen a significant decrease, the drug remains one of the most frequently prescribed medications for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. An estimated 1 million patients in the United States are currently on Avandia.

Avandia is one of two currently available type 2 diabetes drugs of its kind. Actos, manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceuticals, is another medication specifically engineered to reverse the body's resistance to naturally produced insulin. Actos (pioglitazone) has been compared to Avandia in several studies over the years and is proven to lead to similar minor side effects; however, unlike Avandia, it has not been linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Contacting an Experienced Avandia Attorney

In addition to heart failure, Avandia has been linked to a number of life-threatening side effects, including stroke. If you believe that you or a loved one is an Avandia stroke victim, learn more about an Avandia attorney, who can inform you of your legal rights and help you file a personal injury or wrongful death case against the responsible party.

Page Updated June 24, 2011