Posted by saturn on May 2, 2006, at 19:13:43
****Below is an excerpt from an article titled, "Study Finds Beta Blockers Can Increase Patients' Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes":
In the six-year Johns Hopkins' study, 12,550 adults ages 45-64 who did not have diabetes were studied. Those with high blood pressure who took beta-blockers had a 28 percent higher risk of eventually developing type 2 diabetes than did those who took no medication. In contrast, those who took one of the other types of drugs used to treat high blood pressure — thiazide diuretic, angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or calcium-channel antagonists — were found to have no increased risk of developing diabetes
****This is not news, but 28% is pretty high...and that's only over a 6 year period. I also found the following article:
Advantages of a third-generation beta-blocker in patients with diabetes mellitus.
Am J Cardiol. 2004; 93(9A):49B-52B (ISSN: 0002-9149)
Bell DS
Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical School, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA. dbell@endo.dom.uab.edubeta-Blocker use improves outcomes even more for the patient with diabetes mellitus than for the patient without diabetes with a history of acute myocardial infarction or coronary artery disease. beta-Blockers facilitate shifting the metabolism of the myocardium away from free fatty acid toward glucose utilization, thereby reducing the cardiac workload and myocardial ischemia. beta-Blockers are also able to reverse the fetal gene induction program to reverse myocardial remodeling and improve ventricular function. Side effects of beta-blockers in the patient with diabetes include increased insulin resistance with worsening glycemic control, elevated triglyceride levels, and lowered levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Increased frequency of hypoglycemia and its lack of recognition can also be a problem in the insulin-deficient patient but is a minimal problem with the patient with type 2 diabetes. In addition, vasoconstriction, caused by unopposed alpha-activity, can worsen peripheral vascular disease. However, carvedilol, a nonselective beta-blocker with vasodilating and insulin-sensitizing properties, can largely circumvent these problems and is the ideal beta-blocker for the patient with diabetes.
****Can this be so... that Coreg/Carvedilol has "insulin-sensitizing" properties? I've heard of it's antioxidant properties, but not this? Do they measure insulin resistance by measuring actual insulin levels (the study only mentions glycemic control and HbA1C)?
I had thought that all beta blockers carry the risk of insulin resistance and diabetes. Does this mean that Coreg does not? Can anyone comment any further on this?
thanks, peace
--sat
poster:saturn
thread:639394
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060429/msgs/639394.html