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Intense diabetes therapy didn't cut heart problems

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-07 20:56

NEW YORK - Aggressively treating diabetes doesn't prevent heart problems and deaths any better than standard treatment for lowering blood sugar, Australian researchers reported Friday.

The US Diabetes Conversation Map(R) program is a novel health education method and patient engagement tool that uses small group conversation to lead diabetes patients to personal health discoveries and positive behavior change. [Agencies]

It's the second large study, involving thousands of patients, to show no heart benefit from drastically lowering diabetics' blood sugar levels. Experts said doctors should stick to the recommended target levels.

Heart disease is the cause of death for two-thirds of diabetics. Researchers tried pushing blood sugar down to near-normal levels to see if that would protect the hearts of high-risk patients with Type 2 diabetes.

But the Australian study showed no difference in the number of heart attacks, strokes and heart-related deaths between groups who got intensive or standard care. A US study that was stopped earlier this year also showed no benefit and in addition reported an unexplained higher number of deaths among those who were aggressively treated.

The Australian study showed one positive result - a one-fifth reduction in kidney problems, a common complication of diabetes, compared to normal care.

"Both studies are important contributions to the field but do not provide a definitive answer," Dr. William T. Cefalu, of Louisiana State University, wrote in an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine. He said other ongoing studies should provide clarification.

Both studies were released Friday in the journal and are being presented at an American Diabetes Association meeting in San Francisco. Partial results of the US research were released in February when it was halted.

An estimated 21 million Americans and 250 million people worldwide have diabetes, meaning their bodies can't properly regulate their blood sugar, or glucose. Most have Type 2 diabetes. High levels of blood sugar can cause damage to the heart, blood vessels, kidneys and eyes.

Instead of trying aggressive measures, experts say there should be more focus on other strategies known to lower heart risks - diet, exercise and medications such as aspirin, cholesterol-lowering statins and blood pressure drugs.

In the two studies, researchers used a test that tracks average glucose levels over two to three months. For diabetics in the US, the recommended level is below 7. People without diabetes have levels around 5.

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