Lipid Lowering With Actos: An Overview
Actos® (
pioglitazone hydrochloride) is a prescription medication used to treat
type 2 diabetes. It is a member of the thiazolidinedione group of
diabetes medications. Although Actos has many beneficial effects on blood sugar, it may also have useful effects on lipids as well.
Lipid Lowering With Actos: What Does Research Show?
In studies, Actos increased
HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol) by 12.2 to 19.1 percent. Also, Actos decreased
triglycerides by about 9 percent. Actos did increase
LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) and total cholesterol, although people not taking Actos increased their LDL and total cholesterol by similar percentages.
Lipid Lowering With Actos: Summary
Actos appears to have beneficial effects on lipids.
The drug increases HDL ("
good cholesterol") and decreases triglycerides. However, does not seem to have much of an effect on LDL cholesterol or total cholesterol.