Description: The popular diabetes medication Avandia is under scrutiny again. A new Canadian study finds that the drug, along with others like it, increases the risk of heart failure, heart attacks and death in older adults.

The study authors say their results provide further evidence that this class of medication may cause more harm than good.



The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at the glitazone class of drugs, which include rosiglitazone, the pharmaceutical name for Avandia and pioglitazone (sold under the name Actos). Both drugs work by increasing the body's sensitivity to insulin.


The researchers say this study is distinct from previous studies because it was not a clinical trial but the first real-world, population-based examination of the drugs.


The study examined Ontario health-care databases, looking for residents aged 65 years or older who were treated with diabetes medications and then followed them for almost four years,