Recent research has shown that drugs in the “statin” class may lead some to develop diabetes. Diabetes is a serious medical condition wherein the body to adequately control the sugar level in the blood. Insulin is an enzyme produced by the pancreas that allows sugar to enter the cells, and cells need this sugar for energy so they can carry out their functions. If the pancreas does not produce insulin, or produces deformed insulin, the cells will not get the necessary energy and eventually die.
Author D. Preiss, from the BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, at University of Glasgow, in Scotland, conducted a study titled “Risk of Incident Diabetes with Intensive-Dose Compared With Moderate-Dose Statin Therapy: A meta Analysis”. The objective of this study was to determine the rate of the risk for developing diabetes mellitus posed to individuals who use statin therapy. The study used Medline, Embase, and the the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials to obtain sources and information needed. In all, 1000 subjects were used, and the health of patients who used high-dose statin therapy was compared to the health of patients who used moderate dose statin therapy over the course of one year. Preiss states, “Tabular data provided for each trial described baseline characteristics and numbers of participants developing diabetes and experiencing major cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction or stroke, coronary revascularization).”
Results from this study showed that 2,749 patients out of 32,752 developed diabetes. From the 2,794 patients who developed diabetes, 1,449 of them were assigned intensive dose therapy and 1,300 were assigned moderate dose therapy. This shows that high-dose statin therapy has a connection with an increased risk for the development of diabetes.
Due to the fact that many people have used Lipitor (atorvastatin), a potent statin drug, unaware of the risk for new onset diabetes, a number of Lipitor (atorvastatin) lawsuits have been filed across the country. If you or a loved one used Lipitor and recently received a diabetes diagnosis, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation from Pfizer, the manufacturer of Lipitor. For more information on Lipitor lawsuits, or for a free, no-obligation case consultation, contact our team of Lipitor lawyers at your earliest convenience.
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Our Lipitor Lawsuit Information page is a great place to start if you have any questions about Lipitor.