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Diabetes drug could be dangerous
30/07/2007
Despite new analysis stating that two diabetes drugs possibly double the risk of heart failure, the chair of the British Medical Association's GPs committee in Northern Ireland has said that sufferers should still continue to take their prescriptions.
Dr Brian Dunn said that people who need Avandia or Actos should keep taking the tablets even though researchers at the University of East Anglia and Wake Forest University in North Carolina in the US estimate that one in fifty Type 2 diabetes sufferers would face heart failure after taking the drugs for 26 months.
Dr Dunn was quoted in the Belfast Telegraph as saying: "There's no need to be alarmed by this. Continue taking the tablets and if you have any concerns, have a chat with your GP about it at your next check up.
"Any GP with a patient suffering from both diabetes and heart disease would be aware of it and would have taken this into consideration. Lots of drugs can cause fluid retention and heart failure can be well controlled these days."
Iain Foster, director of Diabetes UK Northern Ireland, added: "Diabetes is a very complex condition. It is a life-long condition that needs to be carefully treated and controlled.
"It's important that there isn't a knee-jerk reaction to this. Both these drugs have been approved by Nice as safe for use. New research needs to be taken on board, but it's important to remember that this is just one study and there needs to be more research."
As many as 76,000 people in Northern Ireland have been diagnosed with diabetes, but solicitors need not expect a glut of prescription drug poisoning cases, as further research may yet reveal that the drugs pose no significant risks.
Contact us for legal advice
Dr Brian Dunn said that people who need Avandia or Actos should keep taking the tablets even though researchers at the University of East Anglia and Wake Forest University in North Carolina in the US estimate that one in fifty Type 2 diabetes sufferers would face heart failure after taking the drugs for 26 months.
Dr Dunn was quoted in the Belfast Telegraph as saying: "There's no need to be alarmed by this. Continue taking the tablets and if you have any concerns, have a chat with your GP about it at your next check up.
"Any GP with a patient suffering from both diabetes and heart disease would be aware of it and would have taken this into consideration. Lots of drugs can cause fluid retention and heart failure can be well controlled these days."
Iain Foster, director of Diabetes UK Northern Ireland, added: "Diabetes is a very complex condition. It is a life-long condition that needs to be carefully treated and controlled.
"It's important that there isn't a knee-jerk reaction to this. Both these drugs have been approved by Nice as safe for use. New research needs to be taken on board, but it's important to remember that this is just one study and there needs to be more research."
As many as 76,000 people in Northern Ireland have been diagnosed with diabetes, but solicitors need not expect a glut of prescription drug poisoning cases, as further research may yet reveal that the drugs pose no significant risks.
Contact us for legal advice
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