Breaking Medical News: Diabetes Study Partially Halted Due to Deaths

February 7, 2008

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) Diabetes Study Partially Halted Due to Deaths The Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study, a multicenter trial testing whether intensive control of diabetes can

reduce cardiovascular risks, has been partially halted due to increased deaths in the intensively treated group. The trial, which enrolled 10,251 participants, was designed to test the effects of intensive blood glucose control and, in some participants, intensive control of blood lipids and blood pressure. After four years, 257 participants in the intensive treatment group had died, compared with 203 in the standard treatment group. As a result, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the study’s sponsor, is ending the intensive treatment arm of the trial. Participants will instead be treated according to the less intensive protocol. Read NHLBI’s information on the ACCORD study. Although the study treatment emphasized the use of medications, there was no apparent connection with the recently revealed risks of

rosiglitazone (Avandia). The ending of the active treatment in the ACCORD trial highlights the need for research on lifestyle alterations. PCRM’s recent study, published by the American Diabetes Association in Diabetes Care, showed the effect of a low-fat vegan diet on type 2 diabetes.¹ 1. Barnard ND, Cohen J, Jenkins DJ, Turner-McGrievy G, Gloede L, Jaster B, Seidl K, Green AA, Talpers S. A low-fat, vegan diet improves glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in a randomized clinical trial in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 2006;29:1777-1783. For information about nutrition and

health, please visit www.pcrm.org/. Breaking Medical News is a service of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 5100 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, DC 20016. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine5100 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Ste. 400 Washington, DC 20016 Phone: 202-686-2210E-mail: info

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