Avandia/Nyracta (Glaxo SMith Kline) associated with Diabetic Macular Oedema in Type 2 Diabetes patients

Treatment with glucose-lowering thiazolidinedione drugs including Avandia/Nyracta, from Glaxo SMith Kline, in patients with Type 2 Diabetes appears to be associated with an increased risk of Diabetic Macular Oedema (DMO) at 1-year and 10-year follow-up evaluations. A retrospective study of 103,368 patients with Type 2 Diabetes and no DMO at baseline showed the incidence of DMO at 1 year was 1.3 percent (41 cases) among thiazolidinedione users (n=3,227 patients) and was 0.2 percent (227 cases) among nonusers of these drugs. The association was evident with both pioglitazone and rosiglitazone. A larger and more detailed meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (ideally in high-risk patients) will be needed to clearly establish the risk-benefit profile of thiazolidinediones in patients with or at risk of DMO, says researcher Iskandar Idris, of the Sherwood Forest Hospitals Foundation Trust, Nottinghamshire, England. he authors suggest that the patients at greatest risk of developing DMO were those taking thiazolidinediones in combination with insulin. See: "Association Between Thiazolidinedione Treatment and Risk of Macular Oedema Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes" Iskandar Idris et al. Arch Intern Med. 2012;():1-7. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2012.1938