Pioglitazone
One pioglitazone product sits on this shelf: Actos, in 15 mg, 30 mg and 45 mg tablets for adults managing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus alongside diet and exercise.
Key points
- Pioglitazone carries a boxed warning because thiazolidinediones can cause or worsen congestive heart failure in some patients.
- It works only when the body still produces its own insulin, so it is not suitable for type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis.
- In two three-year trials, bladder cancer was reported in 16 of 3,656 people taking pioglitazone and in 5 of 3,679 people not taking it.
How does Pioglitazone work?
Pioglitazone belongs to a class of diabetes medicines called thiazolidinediones. It acts on receptors in fat tissue, muscle and the liver, making those tissues more responsive to insulin. The result is less sugar released by the liver and more sugar taken up by muscle after meals.
Unlike sulfonylureas, it does not prompt the pancreas to release more insulin. In the Diabetes Management category, that distinction matters: pioglitazone lowers blood glucose by changing how tissues respond to the insulin already present, not by adding more of it.