Rezulin scare affects locals

By Michael Roknick
Herald Business Editor

Doctors treating diabetes’ patients with Rezulin found their switchboards light up over the past two days.

Parke-Davis/Warner-Lambert, the drug manufacturer, agreed to withdraw the diabetes drug on Tuesday at the request of the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA said that it requested that Rezulin, a drug for treatment of Type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes, no longer be sold.

The drug has been linked to at least 61 deaths after a review of safety data showed it was more toxic to the liver than comparable drugs.

But doctors cautioned Rezulin patients not to stop taking the drug without first contacting their treating physician.

Andrew Behnke, a Hermitage endocrinologist and director of the Diabetes and Endocrinology Center at Sharon Regional Health System, said he has up to 1,000 diabetic patients taking Rezulin. “I’ve gotten a lot of phone calls,’’ Behnke said.

Rezulin is designed to bring patients’ blood sugar levels under control. If a Rezulin user stops taking the drug cold turkey that could cause a surge in sugar levels, he said. Physicians have other drugs to fall back on such as Actos and Avandia.

“I have a number of patients on Rezulin and I’m going to tell them we’ll have to switch them to something else to treat their diabetes,’’ said Dr. Lynn Burmeister.

An endocrinologist, Ms. Burmeister practices at UPMC Horizon and UPMC Presbyterian University Hospital in Pittsburgh. She is also an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Figuring what new drug to use to control blood sugar levels will vary.

“That will depend on the individual,’’ Ms. Burmeister said. “I don’t have a blanket plan for all my patients on Rezulin.’’

Neither doctor encountered a situation where a Rezulin patient developed adverse liver problems due to the drug. They credit that to closely monitoring patients.

“But with Rezulin now no longer an option, patients should check with their doctor to figure the best course of action,’’ Behnke said.

On the Net: Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov
Parke-Davis: http://www.drugbase.co.za/pdavis/default.htm
Public Citizen: http://www.citizen.org/archive/indexold.html

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