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A family of anti-diabetic drugs called the glitazones has been shown to cause heart disease. There's been a controversy running internationally about the treatment of people with adult onset or type 2 diabetes, where the problem is that insulin doesn't work as well at getting glucose from the blood into cells to be converted into energy or energy stores. The treatment usually involves taking medications which reduce blood sugar. But one family of anti-diabetic drugs called the glitazones has been under a cloud. One was removed from the market because of liver damage and another popular one called rosiglitazone - the brand name's Avandia - was alleged to increase the risk of heart attacks; which is ironic since preventing heart disease is a big reason for getting the blood sugar down. But the experts have been arguing over whether these assertions - which have emerged long after rosiglitazone was put on the market - are real. Well a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests they are. Researchers looking at trials which followed people up to a year after starting on the drug have confirmed a 40 per cent increase in risk. This is on top of an increased risk of bone fracture for some reason. Another study in the same issue of another glitazone - pioglitazone or Actos - found a decrease in heart attacks but an raised risk of heart failure. So if you've type 2 diabetes, the message seems to be to steer clear of rosiglitazone and only go on a glitazone under special circumstances. It also raises a lot of questions about the regulation of drug safety. 
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