Abstract

This study compared the effects of administering rosiglitazone (RSG) vs pioglitazone (PIO) on cardiovascular disease risk factors in insulin-resistant, nondiabetic individuals with no apparent disease. Twenty-two nondiabetic, apparently healthy individuals, classified as being insulin resistant on the basis of a steady-state plasma glucose concentration of at least 10 mmol/L during the insulin suppression test, were treated with either RSG or PIO for 3 months. Measurements were made before and after drug treatment of weight; blood pressure; fasting and daylong glucose, insulin, and free fatty acid (FFA) levels; and lipid and lipoprotein concentrations. Insulin sensitivity (steady-state plasma glucose concentration) significantly improved in both treatment groups, associated with significant decreases in daylong plasma concentrations of glucose, insulin, and FFA. Diastolic blood pressure fell somewhat in both groups, and this change reached significance in those receiving PIO. Improvement in lipid metabolism was confined to the PIO-treated group, signified by a significant decrease in plasma triglyceride concentration, whereas triglyceride concentration did not decline in the RSG-treated group, and these individuals also had increases in total (P = .047) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = .07). In conclusion, RSG and PIO appear to have comparable abilities to improve insulin sensitivity and lower daylong glucose, insulin, and FFA concentrations in nondiabetic, insulin-resistant individuals. However, despite these similarities, their effects on lipoprotein metabolism seem to be quite different, with beneficial effects confined to PIO-treated individuals.

View details for DOI 10.1016/j.metabol.2008.10.011

View details for Web of Science ID 000263882400017

View details for PubMedID 19217454