Bezafibrate Slows Insulin Resistance in Coronary Patients

The fibric acid derivative bezafibrate effectively attenuates the progression of insulin resistance in patients with coronary artery disease.Glycemic Control Cuts Lead investigator Dr. Alexander Tenenbaum stated that "measurements obtained during placebo treatment demonstrated a natural history of progressive increasing of insulin resistance in patients with coronary disease."

The treatment, he added, "based on activation of nuclear peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors — bezafibrate in our case — can significantly attenuate or stop this unfavorable process."

Dr. Tenenbaum of Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer and colleagues studied frozen plasma samples taken from more than 2500 patients with coronary disease randomized to bezafibrate or placebo over a 2-year period.

In a subgroup of 351 subjects with diabetes, baseline homeostatic indices of insulin resistance (HOMA-IRs) were 88% higher than in their counterparts with normal glucose levels. Overall, HOMA-IRs were similar in the placebo and active treatment groups at baseline.

HOMA-IRs significantly correlated with glucose and triglyceride levels at baseline and at follow-up. There was also a significant 34.4% rise in HOMA-IR in the placebo group, but a non-significant rise of only 6.6% in the bezafibrate group.
Although the underlying mechanisms are unclear, Dr. Tenenbaum noted that the findings are "of potential clinical importance, given the current availability of therapies that directly and indirectly reduce insulin resistance."
Arch Intern Med 2006;166:737-741.

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DID YOU KNOW:
Type 2 Diabetics Need More Sunshine: A new study shows that 60 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes have vitamin D deficiency. A lack of vitamin D can affect bone health, as well as having other adverse effects. The study’s authors recommended widespread screening for vitamin D deficiency among diabetics, or routine vitamin D supplementation. The study compared the vitamin D blood levels of more than 450 type 2 diabetics with a similar number of non-diabetics. The diabetics with vitamin D deficiency were more likely to be women, and to be taking insulin or cholesterol-lowering drugs. More than 30 percent of the diabetics had cardiovascular disease, which has been linked to low vitamin D levels. Diabetes Care March 2006; 29(3): 722-724

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