Older and cheaper pills just fine for diabetes

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Older and cheaper pills are just as effective for treating diabetes as some of the more expensive new drugs, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

A comparison of 10 diabetes drugs showed they all worked well to reduce levels of glucose, or sugar, in the blood. But each one has drawbacks, the federally funded researchers found.

The review, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, will add to a growing debate about the safety of some of the newer diabetes drugs.

Used alone, metformin, the glitazones and newer sulfonylureas all reduced blood sugar about as well over time, Dr. Shari Bolen of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and colleagues found.

One thing they did not find -- any evidence to support a contentious report that suggested one of the newer drugs, GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Avandia, might raise the risk of heart attacks.

"Likewise, we found no statistically significant differences between specific oral diabetes medications in terms of cardiovascular outcomes other than congestive heart failure," they wrote.

Gail Shearer of Consumer Reports said, "This is truly significant information for the millions of people with diabetes struggling to control their disease, but also struggling with the high cost of their medications."

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