Back to Journals » Vascular Health and Risk Management » Volume 5

Safety and efficacy of rosiglitazone in the elderly diabetic patient

Authors Viljoen A, Sinclair A

Published 30 April 2009 Volume 2009:5 Pages 389—395

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/VHRM.S4053

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 2



Adie Viljoen1, Alan Sinclair2

1Department of Chemical Pathology, Lister Hospital, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK; 2Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Postgraduate Medical School, Putteridge Bury ampus, Luton, Bedfordshire, UK

Abstract: Diabetes is an important health condition for the aging population; at least 20% of patients over the age of 65 years have diabetes, and this number can be expected to grow rapidly in the coming decades. Rosiglitazone, a drug in the thiazolidinedione class which targets insulin resistance, was approved by drug regulatory bodies based on its ability to improve glycemic control nearly ten years ago. The greatest long-term risk in diabetes is cardiovascular disease with macrovascular disease being the cause of as much as 80% of mortality. More recently the cardiovascular safety of rosiglitazone was brought to center stage following several meta-analyses and the unplanned interim analysis of the RECORD trial. As opposed to pioglitazone, current evidence points to rosiglitazone having a greater risk of myocardial ischemic events than placebo, metformin, or sulfonylureas. A thiazolidinedione class effect however seems apparent with respect to the increased risk for fractures and congestive heart failure. Clinical trial evidence on rosiglitazone therapy in the elderly is limited. The available evidence is mainly related to observational cohort studies. Most of the trial evidence relates to a younger population and therefore these data can not be directly extrapolated to an older population. The effects of the thiazolidinedione drug class remain incompletely understood.

Keywords: rosiglitazone, elderly, cardiovascular disease, thiazolidinedione, type 2 diabetes

Creative Commons License © 2009 The Author(s). This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License. By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.