Science Watch:

Dietary Treatment of Diabetes

NIH-funded research by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine lead by Dr. Neal D. Barnard, in coordination with George Washington University and the University of Toronto, has shown that a low-fat vegan diet treats type 2 diabetes more effectively than a standard diabetes diet and may be more effective than single-agent therapy with oral diabetes drugs.  The findings were published in the August 2006 issue of Diabetes Care, a journal published by the American Diabetes Association.  Study participants showed dramatic improvement in four disease markers: blood sugar control, cholesterol reduction, weight control, and kidney function.  For more information, visit www.pcrm.org/news/release060727.html.

Industry Sponsorship and Research Reports

Industry-sponsored analysis of drug studies favor industry-sponsored drugs.  It is well known that drug trials commonly favor the sponsor's product.  A study of meta-analyses showed that independent reviews were more likely to be clear about methodologies (e.g., exclusion criteria), more openly discussed limitations of methodology, and were less inclined to s provide favorable conclusions about drugs produced by sponsoring companies.

Reference: Jorgensen AW, et al. Cochrane reviews compared to industry supported meta-analysis and other meta-analyses of the same drug: systematic review. British Medical Journal, Oct. 6, 2006.