Comparative study of low-dose pioglitazone or metformin treatment in Japanese diabetic patients with metabolic syndrome
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine whether a relatively low dose of pioglitazone or metformin was effective in diabetic patients with metabolic syndrome. Fifty diabetic patients with metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned to a low-dose pioglitazone (15 mg/day) treatment group or a low-dose metformin (500 mg/day) treatment group. Drugs were administered for 12 weeks. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, body mass index, triglyceride (TG), HDL and LDL-cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), fasting plasma insulin (IRI), postprandial glucose, and HOMA-IR in the 75gOGTT, HbA1c, high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) determined by cervical artery echography, and pulse wave velocity (PWV) were measured before/after 12-week drug administration. Significant decreases in HbA1c and HOMA-IR were noted in the pioglitazone group, along with significant decreases in TG, AST, ALT, blood pressure, hs-CRP and PWV. Significant decreases in HbA1c, HOMA-IR, BMI and waist circumference were noted in the metformin group. The pioglitazone group significantly improved the values for ALT, systolic blood pressure, hs-CRP and PWV compared to the metformin group. However, the metformin group demonstrated significant improvement in BMI compared with the pioglitazone group. Using a low dose regimen, pioglitazone significantly improved blood pressure and hepatic function and may be more effective than metformin to reduce risk factors in Japanese diabetic patients with metabolic syndrome at…
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Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design.
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