Pioglitazone in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the year 2017: Current insight into benefits and disadvantages of this medication
Abstract
Glitazones, with pioglitazone being currently the only available member of this group in the Czech Republic, represent a drug class with the unique mode of action and good antidiabetic efficacy owing to improvement of insulin sensitivity and β-cell protection. The use of pioglitazone in patients with type 2 diabetes tended to decrease in recent years due to discussion regarding cardiovascular side effects of another representative of this group - rosiglitazone.
Other side effects of glitazones were also discussed including an increased risk of fractures and heart failure, fluid retention and body weight gain and also a possible relationship of pioglitazone treatment to bladder cancer risk. In this paper we review current knowledge concerning the effects of pioglitazone in patients with type 2 diabetes including an up-to-date view on its side effects and their possible prevention.
In contrast to rosiglitazone, pioglitazone appears to be rather cardioprotective. This fact along with its β-cell protectivity and low risk of hypoglycemia makes pioglitazone an interesting option of combinatory treatment of type 2 diabetes patients, including those with high cardiovascular risk