(NaturalNews) New, expensive diabetes drugs function no better than older versions while carrying more dangerous side effects, according to a study published in the
Journal of the American Medical Association.Researchers from Tufts University conducted a meta-analysis of 29 prior studies of Byetta (from Eli Lilly and Co. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals) and Januvia (from Merck & Co.). The drugs have become highly popular recently, largely because they do not cause weight gain or low blood sugar like older
diabetes drugs do.
The two new
drugs act by a mechanism called incretin-based therapy, which targets the hormones that regulate insulin secretion after a meal. Byetta is a synthetic version of a naturally occurring hormone, while Januvia acts by blocking an enzyme that breaks down that hormone.
The Tufts study concluded that the drugs are effective at controlling
blood sugar, but not any more so than older, less expensive
medications. In addition, because 26 of the 29
studies were less than 8 months long, the researchers warned that the drugs' long-term health effects are unknown. Even with the short-term studies, the medications are already known to have
side effects including infection, nausea and vomiting.
"[The new drugs] are 10 to 12 times more expensive," said lead researcher Anastassios Pittas. "The question is, are they 10 times better? It's pretty amazing to me that we have six-month data and a lot of people are willing to jump on this, even though the drugs haven't proven themselves ... and they are very, very expensive."
While older drugs such as metformin are available for less than 60 cents per pill, Januvia
costs approximately $5.50 per pill, and one cartridge of the injectable
drug Byetta costs $200.
"It would be premature to fully embrace and use both these classes of medications over older, more established medications for a chronic condition such as
diabetes," Pittas said.
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