Lipitor May Pose Threat to Severely Ill Diabetics

By Danielle Briones

Published on July 22, 2005

Led by Dr. Christoph Wanner at the University of Wurzburg, this was the first major study conducted on diabetics who required dialysis machines to remove waste from their bloodstream. Researches have found the results of this study surprising since initial results showed Lipitor benefited diabetics that were not as ill. The results of the study were later published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Pfizer Inc., the makers of Lipitor, funded the study that consisted of 1,255 Europeans suffering from Type 2 diabetes, a condition in which the body cannot properly use insulin. Conducted over four years, the study found no difference in a Lipitor patient's risk for heart disease or stroke compared to patients taking a dummy pill. Of the 619 patients in the Lipitor group there were 27 fatal strokes compared to 13 fatal strokes in the 636 patients in the placebo group. Authors of the study could not conclude if this was just a chance finding considering the results of previous studies.

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