USC Westside Center for Diabetes | December 2001 Newsletter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE


		The Results Are In: Therapies to prevent type 2 diabetes compared.

		Pump Update: Minimed Paradigm release postponed, and Disetronic introduces a new infusion set.

		Sugar: Have your fruitcake and eat it too.

		Kids with Diabetes: Care at school is critical to a healthy life, now and later.

		Changing Rules: FAA issues guidelines for flying with diabetes supplies.

		Prevention: USC physician seeks causes and ways to head off diabetes.

Points of Interest


		Handling stress

		Cholesterol-lowering drugs

		Concern Over Atkins Diet

		Thyroid Hormone Replacement Therapy

		Diabetes... an Aspirin a Day

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	Should I Worry About my Cholesterol-lowering Drug? - By Peter Butler, MD The withdrawal of the cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol has spawned much publicity recently. This drug was withdrawn from the market because of deaths caused by severe inflammation of muscles, which in turn can lead to kidney failure. Patients who were on Baycol should have been contacted to discontinue this treatment and had an alternative prescribed for them. Those who are still using Baycol should stop using it and contact their prescribing physician for an alternative. Baycol is a class of drug often called "statins" because the drugs' chemical names end in -statin. Other drugs in this class and widely in use include Lescol, Lipitor, Mevacor, Zocor and Pravachol. These drugs have a very powerful effect on lowering the level of the harmful kinds of cholesterol in the blood. Most people tolerate them well, with only minor side effects. Severe inflammation of all body muscles, resulting in severe muscle pain, is a rare side effect, and is most common shortly after starting the drug. ItÕs extremely unusual in people taking only one of the above kind of lipid-lowering drugs, but slightly more likely to occur in people who also take Lopid, a different kind of lipid-lowering drug. If you have started on a cholesterol-lowering drug and have muscle pains, you should stop the medicine and immediately call your physician. Why lower lipids? Cholesterol is an important chemical that is carried around the blood and used to make some hormones (cortisol, for example) and help build healthy membranes for all the cells that make up the body. It is only harmful when too much is present in the blood. In many people, blood lipids do not need to be lowered. But in people with diabetes—especially type-2 diabetes —cholesterol and other potentially harmful blood lipids such as triglycerides are commonly more concentrated. In diabetes, lowering these raised levels has been shown to be especially beneficial in preventing heart attacks, strokes and other blood vessel problems. Therefore, for those with diabetes, the benefits of taking statins far outweigh the potential rare side effect of muscle inflammation. These drugs have been a major advance in preventing the increased rates of heart disease and strokes that are present in people with diabetes.
	Photos By Mark Harmel ©2001/2002 USC. All Rights Reserved

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