Diabetics Should Avoid Tequin
The antibiotic Tequin (galtifloxacin), a member of the quinolone family of medications, is used to treat acute skin infections, sinus infections, pneumonia, bronchitis complications, and urinary tract infections. Tequin is now on a “watch list,” as it has been reported to destabilize blood sugar control. This medication is not recommended for people with diabetes.
Adolescents with IFG
A recent report in the December 2005 edition of Endocrine Today found that one in six overweight adolescents (ages 12 to 19) now shows IFG, impaired fasting glucose (a precursor to diabetes).
According to the original report in the journal Pediatrics, one in ten adolescent boys and one in 25 adolescent girls shows IFG (approximately 7 percent of all adolescents), but with far higher proportion among the overweight. Ethnic percentages were available: 13 percent of Hispanic adolescents; 7 percent of non-Hispanic white adolescents; and only 4.2 percent of non-Hispanic Black adolescents.
These children are at risk, both for diabetes and for cardiac problems. The issue needs to be taken seriously.
More Good News for the TZDs
The oral diabetes medications ACTOS and Avandia, the thiazolidinediones, or TZDs, are potent and effective. New research suggests they may be effective against lung cancer as well. Research presented at the American Cancer Society’s Fourth International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research suggests use of a TZD may produce up to 23% reduction in risk of mortality from (already diagnosed) lung cancer. The findings were not expected, and their process is not fully understood. Clinical trials are needed to confirm the association between the TZDs and cancer.