The long-term effects of rosiglitazone on serum lipid concentrations and body weight

Although rosiglitazone, an insulin sensitizer, is known to have beneficial effects on high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations and low density lipoprotein (LDL) particle size, it has unwanted effects on total cholesterol (TC) and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations and body weight in some short-term studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of rosiglitazone on serum lipid levels and body weight.

Open labelled clinical study.

We prospectively evaluated fasting serum glucose, haemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)), lipid profiles and body weight at baseline and every 3 months after the use of rosiglitazone (4 mg/day) for 18 months in 202 type 2 diabetic patients.

TC levels increased maximally at 3 months and decreased thereafter. However, overall, TC levels remained significantly higher at 18 months than those at baseline. LDL-C levels from the 3-month to the 12-month timepoint were significantly higher than those at baseline. However, after 15 months, LDL-C concentrations were not significantly different from basal LDL-C concentrations. HDL-C levels increased after the first 3 months and these levels were maintained. The increment of change in HDL-C was more prominent in patients with low basal HDL-C concentrations than in patients with high basal HDL-C concentrations. Body weight increased after the first 3 months and these levels were maintained.

HDL-C and body weight increased and remained elevated for the duration of the study. There was an initial increase in LDL-C but this attenuated and by the end of the study was not significantly elevated above baseline levels.