Drug Used To Treat Diabetes In Texas May Kill Patients

The state's propensity to obesity, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer doesn't help. The prevalence of diabetes in the U.S. increased a staggering 49% between 1990 and 2000, and Texas was hit hard, possibly linked with an obesity rate hovering just above 60% of the adult population. Thirty-five percent of children are now clinically obese statewide, and Houston boasts a population in which 86% of its residents are either overweight or obese. This is significant due to the problems that often accompany the condition, including heart disease, stroke, certain cancers and, of course, type 2 diabetes.

For Texas, none of this is good news. With one-quarter of the state going without health insurance, 60% of the population obese, and over half a million diabetic, any problem affecting a large number with any of these conditions could completely overload the already stressed system. A flood of Avandia patients coming in with complications, uninsured, and possibly suffering from other conditions as well, just might send the healthcare system of Texas into meltdown.

Much of the problem, it would seem, stems from the FDA itself, which is slowly but surely nurturing a reputation of extreme negligence into maturity. Once a drug is approved, its actual effects on the population are not as closely monitored as they should be, according to many in the industry.
Dr. Jerry Avorn, of Harvard Medical School, believes that such problems with the FDA will continue to exist "until we are able to get a better system of drug approval and surveillance." That's a powerful statement, considering that this is precisely what the FDA is supposed to do.

It's a wakeup call, really. While it shouldn't be as a result of government agency negligence, in all reality, we should be more responsible for our health on an individual basis -- going for annual physicals, asking our doctors as many questions as we need in order to feel comfortable with a diagnosis or prescription, and doing what we can to take care of ourselves. Simple, common sense principles of nutritional eating and exercise may cut off many conditions requiring drugs before they even have a chance to exist.
Until the nation's health catches up with better habits, however, make sure to keep up with the latest recalls.