Avandia To Fight Diabetes

A new drug has been approved for diabetes sufferers reports CBS This Morning Health Contributor Dr. Dave Hnida of CBS station KCNC-TV in Denver.

The new drug is called Avandia, and it's the latest weapon against adult-onset diabetes - a serious and chronic disease that results in high blood sugar levels due to the body's inability to either use or produce insulin, the hormone that processes blood sugar.

Diabetes affects an estimated 15 million Americans and is a major cause of adult blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and limb amputation.

Avandia helps the body use insulin more effectively to improve blood sugar levels, and has been shown to be safe and effective in clinical trials at lowering blood sugar.

Avandia is in the same class of drugs as a previous diabetes drug called Rezulin that caused severe liver damage in some patients, so doctors are paying close attention to make sure Avandia doesn't cause the same problems.

Avandia has been tested initially on more than 4,000 people with no signs of liver damage. But if your doctor thinks it's right for you, the FDA also recommends that you get a test for liver problems beforehand and get checked your liver checked quarterly while you're taking the drug.

One of the big problems with adult-onset diabetes is many people who have it do not know they have it. So if you have suspicions, you may have it go to your doctor.

Some indications are fatigue, thirst and frequent urination.

The diagnosis is actually very easy. It just takes a simple blood test.

Reported By Dr. Dave Hnida