Archive for August, 2012

Study: Diabetes Prescriptions Avandia and Actos are Dangerous Drugs, Increasing Chance of Impaired Vision or Blindness

Findings from a recent study show that a class of drugs prescribed for treating Type 2 diabetes increases the risk of vision problems in diabetics who take them. Sold as Actos and Avandia, thiazolidinediones can help prevent some complications from diabetes, but the reports that they can be dangerous drugs presents a tough dilemma for patients, their families, pharmacists and healthcare service providers.

Actos hazards and  Avandia risks include the chance of a diabetes patient developing macular edema, or swelling of the retina, which can result in dangerous diabetes drug blindness in one or both eyes.

The Texas personal injuries attorneys at The Herrera Law Firm, Inc. have seen many cases in which patients who trusted their doctors to prescribe good medications have ended up with prescription drug injuries. They urge anyone who takes thiazolidinediones to be cautious of drugs that have not been on the market very long. Pharmaceutical companies will often start selling a new drug before sufficiently testing it. Thiazolidinediones have been on the market for over ten years, but if it’s taken this long for diabetes drug eyesight side effects to be discovered, it’s anyone’s guess what other Actos and Avandia injuries may be discovered.

The study, conducted by the Sherwood Forest Hospitals Foundation Trust in England, is one of the largest to examine potential vision loss and sight problems associated with thiazolidinediones. Published in The Archives of Internal Medicine, the survey involved over

103,000 people with Type 2 diabetes who were followed for approximately 10 years. Those who were using one of the medications were found to have about a two to three times higher risk of developing macular edema. Combining the drugs with insulin, a common practice, seemed to heighten the risk further.

Good vision is a precious part of being healthy, and the idea that a medication for something as common as diabetes could cause thiazolidinediones injuries, resulting in diabetes impaired vision or diabetic blindness, is terrifying.

If you or a loved one has suffered diabetes drug injuries, whether you have vision loss or blurry eyesight or another type of Actos or Avandia medical crisis, contact a reliable personal injury lawyer in Texas today. Call The Herrera Law Firm, Inc. at 1-800-455-1054 or complete our online contact form to schedule a free consultation.

The Herrera Law Firm, Inc.

111 Soledad St., Suite 1900

San Antonio, TX 78205