Troglitazone

NEW YORK, August 18 (Praxis Press). Troglitazone, a member of a new class of antidiabetic drugs, increases insulin sensitivity and promotes adipocyte differentiation. This drug may therefore be therapeutic in patients with lipoatrophic and lipodystrophic disorders. Arioglu and colleagues studied the effects of open-label troglitazone treatment in 20 patients with lipoatrophy and insulin resistance. After 6 months of treatment, fasting triglyceride levels decreased by 2.6 mmol/L (p = 0.019); free fatty acid levels decreased by 325 mmol/L (p = 0.035); the respiratory quotient decreased by a mean of 0.12 (p < 0.001); and body fat increased by a mean 2.4 percentage points (p = 0.044) due to a selective increase in subcutaneous fat. In the patients with diabetes, hemoglobin A1c levels decreased by a mean of 2.8% (p < 0.001). One patient developed nonalcoholic steatohepatitis at six weeks; another patient continuing treatment after the study developed hepatic eosinophilic infiltration at ...