CardioExchange Archive

December 23rd, 2013

Statins: Targeting Risk, but Risking Diabetes?

Emma Morton-Eggleston, MD, MPH and Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

Emma Morton-Eggleston and Richard Lehman share their correspondence with us, in which they debate whether it’s worth using statins to target CV risk if they might increase other risks, such as diabetes.

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November 25th, 2013

FDA Removes Restrictions on Avandia

Larry Husten, PHD

In a remarkable climax to a long-running drama, the FDA today lifted major restrictions on rosiglitazone (Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline). The drug has been the subject of  intense criticism and controversy since the 2007 publication of the famous Nissen meta-analsysis that first raised the possibility that the blockbuster diabetes drug might increase the risk of heart attack and cardiovascular death. The FDA said its […]

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October 21st, 2013

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: October 21st

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include cholecalciferol to reduce BP in older patients with isolated systolic hypertension, the FREEDOM trial, and more.

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October 17th, 2013

New Insights Into Surgery vs. Stents for Diabetics with Multivessel Disease

Larry Husten, PHD

Last year the large NHLBI FREEDOM trial demonstrated that coronary-artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery was superior to PCI when treating diabetic patients who have multivessel coronary disease. CABG resulted in significant reductions in death and MI, but this was offset slightly by a higher rate of stroke in the CABG group. Now, a new report from FREEDOM […]

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September 26th, 2013

Increase In Deaths Linked To First-Line Treatment With Sulfonylureas

Larry Husten, PHD

First-line treatment with sulfonylureas instead of metformin in people with type 2 diabetes is associated with a significantly elevated risk of death, according to results from an observational study presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) meeting in Barcelona. Although guidelines do not recommend the use of sulfonylureas for first-line treatment, the drugs are still […]

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September 5th, 2013

Rosiglitazone Revisited

Richard G. Bach, MD and John Ryan, MD

Richard G. Bach discusses his study group’s observational analysis of data from the BARI 2D trial regarding outcomes associated with rosiglitazone.

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September 2nd, 2013

Cardiovascular Outcome Studies in Diabetes Drugs Finally Arrive

Larry Husten, PHD

Large trials of two diabetes drugs show that they appear to be safe, but do not improve CV outcomes.

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July 29th, 2013

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: July 29th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include riociguat for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, renal outcomes associated with invasive vs. conservative management of ACS, statins and musculoskeletal conditions, arthropathies, and injuries, and more.

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July 9th, 2013

Look AHEAD: More Questions Than Answers

Kasia Lipska, MD, MHS

Reflecting on the LOOK AHEAD trial, an endocrinologist asks some important questions: Should we hold lifestyle interventions to the same high standards of scrutiny as pharmacological interventions? Don’t we already have enough evidence about the impact of lifestyle interventions to implement them in care?

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June 24th, 2013

Large NIH Trial Finds No Cardiovascular Benefits for Weight Loss and Exercise in Type 2 Diabetics

Larry Husten, PHD

A large NIH-sponsored trial has found that an intensive lifestyle intervention was no better than standard care in reducing cardiovascular events in people with type 2 diabetes. The results of the Look AHEAD trial were presented today at the American Diabetes Association meeting and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine. A total of 5,145 people with type 2 […]

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