Volume 3, Number 2, September 2006

Thiazolidinediones and risk for atherosclerosis: pleiotropic effects of PPAR-gamma agonism
Chetan B Patel, James A de Lemos, Kathleen L Wyne, Darren K McGuire

Despite advances in the development of anti-hyperglycaemic drugs and a greater focus on cardiovascular risk modification for patients with diabetes, cardiovascular disease remains the most common complication of type 2 diabetes. Since their initial availability in 1997, the thiazolidinediones have become one of the most commonly prescribed classes of medications for type 2 diabetes. In addition to glucose control, the thiazolidinediones have a number of pleiotropic effects on myriad traditional and non-traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and hold promise with regard to modification of cardiovascular risk. In a recently reported large-scale clinical trial, pioglitazone was associated with improved cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes and prevalent atherosclerotic disease.
In this review, we summarise the experimental, pre-clinical and clinical data regarding the effects of the thiazolidinediones on cardiovascular risk factors and clinical outcomes.

Diabetes Vasc Dis Res 2006;3:65-71.

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