Diabetes Drugs' Potential Adverse Side Effect Explained

In a new study, Ira Goldberg and colleagues at Columbia University, New York, outline a potential explanation for the adverse effects observed in a minority of patients being treated with PPAR-gamma agonists.

To directly determine the effects of increased PPAR-gamma activity in the heart, the authors generated mice expressing increased amounts of PPAR-gamma in the heart compared with normal mice.

Fat and carbohydrates accumulated in the heart muscle cells of these mice causing a deterioration in heart function (a process known as glucolipotoxicity). Administration of a PPAR-gamma agonist to these mice exacerbated their heart dysfunction. The authors therefore conclude that the adverse effect of PPAR-gamma agonists on heart function in humans might be due to glucolipotoxocity.

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