Does Avandia Have an Effect on Lipid Levels?
In September 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would be severely restricting the use of Avandia, due to the risk of "cardiovascular events" such as heart attacks and strokes. Only individuals who cannot control their diabetes on other medications (or those who are already taking the medication and doing well) will be able to take Avandia.
Cholesterol Effects of Avandia: What Does the Research Show?
In studies, Avandia increased LDL
cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) by 14.1 to 18.6 percent. However, it also increased HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol) by 11.4 to 14.2 percent. While these changes cause an increase in total cholesterol, they usually keep the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL the same. In other words, Avandia increases both good and bad cholesterol by about the same amount.
Free Fatty Acids and Avandia
In these same studies, Avandia was shown to decrease free fatty acids by as much as 14.
7 percent. Free fatty acids are related to
triglycerides, but are not the same as triglycerides. In fact, triglyceride levels did not change in these studies. Free fatty acids are often higher in people who are obese or who have diabetes, and may be linked to
insulin resistance or other
diabetes complications.
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