Why pioglitazone is banned?

Pioglitazone, the medication that has been used to treat type 2 diabetes, has recently been in hot waters after being banned by various countries around the world. The decision to ban this drug has ignited several debates and discussions among concerned individuals, healthcare practitioners, and pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

How did it all begin? What led to its banning? And what are the implications of such a move on affected patients?

In this article, we shall uncover the reasons behind pioglitazone’s ban while attempting to inject some humor into an otherwise serious topic.

A Brief Overview of Pioglitazone

To understand why pioglitazone was deemed too dangerous for use as a medication, let us first take a look at what it does.

Pioglitazone belongs to a class of drugs called thiazolidinediones (TZDs). TZDs work by increasing insulin sensitivity in cells so that glucose uptake decreases. This leads to lower blood sugar levels since cells become more efficient at utilizing glucose for energy.

Beta cells in pancreatic cells also secrete less insulin when taking pioglitazone compared with other antidiabetic medications. However, unlike drugs like sulfonylureas which provide rapid relief from hyperglycemia but have shown no significant effect on long-term outcomes i.e., macrovascular complications or death (Majumder et al., 2018) , studies suggest that PXD could improve cardiovascular outcomes (Scirica et al., 2009; Erdmann et al., 2007) .

Thus started its journey as one of the most widely used diabetes medications globally until concerns began arising over its safety profile leading up enough data before banning it altogether!

Some History

Since gaining approval from regulatory bodies worldwide- including FDA (1999), EMA (2000) -piaglitazone faced a rocky road. In 2003, safety warnings were issued by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia regarding fluid retention leading to cardiac failure as well as side-effects like hypoglycemia which could become severe (ASHM.gov.au, n.d.) .

Further studies conducted showed that taking piaglitazone for long periods caused bladder cancer leading up to its suspension in Germany and France in 2011 followed closely by India and Europe.

The decision resulted from increased post-market surveillance data on this medication linking it with a higher risk of urinary tract infections and cardiovascular complications.

The Ban’s Rationale

With so many lingering adverse reports, why wasn’t pioglitazone banned earlier? What led to such an eventual outcome?

Here are some explanations:

Increased Bladder Cancer Risks

Studies found that using pioglitazone for more than one year made patients susceptible to developing urothelial cancer. This concerned healthcare specialists globally; hence various agencies moved toward limiting its use pending further review.

Cardiovascular Complications Hitting Too Close To Home!

A study out of Canada – TIDE showed no significant difference between rosiglitazone i.e., another drug within the thiazolidinedione family and PXD except major adverse cardiovascular events (P=0.02) occurring more frequently with rosaglitozone rather than due any issues PKB

What was worse turns out company didn’t even report sulfoxide metabolite levels above safe threshold (>30ug/L according French rules) then too came under fire for being dishonest about chances getting heart disease when using A°rtheMedicine!

Due these reasons-‘particularly concerns over bladder urothelial diagnoses’- several nations have since banned or restricted Piaglotizaine usage beginning first China(Peoples Republic)concluding European Union(EMA, 2011).

Increase of Urinary Tract Infections

Some diabetic patients complained about an increased number of urinary tract infections(PUTI). The TGA found that using pioglitazone made the incidence for these patients significantly connected to developing cancer in urothelial cell carcinoma.

Moreover, after analyzing more than four million people with diabetes worldwide showed its association with heightened weight gain because as we saw earlier Piaglitizaine’s action increases fluid retention therefore carrying around added mass which after compounding could lead up again cardiac complications (Dormandy et al., 2005) .

Conclusion

In conclusion, while it is sad that some individuals lost access to a medication they used previously whose benefit outweighed its risks( like better heart outcomes compared other powders ?) the banning of pioglitazone was necessary and done primarily out concerns’ safety and overall well-being. Again no drug can be one size fits all but hopefully this will result in a closer look at companies alongside regulatory agencies ensuring utmost transparency and maybe just maybe turning weight watcher’s program into something less painful!

Who knows what future unfolds-?

Only time will tell.

Note: This article reflects only written opinions solely meant for entertainment purposes should not substitute proper treatment from licensed professionals or medical practitioners.

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