Diabetes has been a growing problem over recent years. More than likely you or someone you know has been affected by diabetes in one way or another. A report today by ABC.com stated that 45 percent of adults have diagnosed or undiagnosed high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.

It is important to know what kind of medication you or your loved one is taking when it comes to diabetes, so we will do a quick rundown of the most popular diabetes drugs and how they work.

Actos Oral

Actos is an anti-diabetic drug that is prescribed along with a proper diet and exercise program in order to control high blood sugar in patients that suffer from type 2 diabetes. Actos works by helping to restore your body’s proper response to insulin, which in turn lowers your blood sugar.

Amaryl Oral

Amaryl aka Glimepiride is an anti-diabetic drug that is used in patients with type 2 diabetes. Amaryl works by to stimulate the release of your body’s natural insulin. Controlling high blood sugar will allow diabetics to avoid kidney damage, blindness, nerve problems, and many other problems while also lessening the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Lantus SubQ

Lantus is used in people with type 1 (insulin-dependent) or type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes. Lantis is a man-made, long-acting type of insulin that is similar to human insulin but starts working more slowly and lasts longer than regular insulin produced by the body.

Avandamet Oral

Avandamet works by helping to restore your body’s proper response to the insulin you naturally produce. Avandamet belongs to a class of drugs known as thiazolidinediones or “glitazones.”

Cozaar Oral

Cozaar is used to treat high blood pressure and also to help protect the kidneys from damage due to diabetes and works by blocking the hormone angiotensin which relaxes blood vessels, causing them to become wider. Cozaar is in the class of drugs called angiotensin receptor blockers.

Glucophage Oral

Glucophage is used in people with type 2 diabetes (non-insulin-dependent diabetes) and works by controlling high blood sugar. Proper control of diabetes may also lessen your risk of a heart attack or stroke. It is in the class of drugs known as biguanides and works by helping to restore your body’s proper response to the insulin your body naturally produces, while also decreasing the amount of sugar that your liver makes and that your stomach and intestines absorb.

These are just a few of the more common drugs that you may be prescribed by your doctor. If we didn’t cover your diabetes drug in this post, check out healthcentral.com and study up on your diabetes drugs. Also, always make sure you know of any and all possible side effects that could occur.

New studies released today found that many who take the popular diabetes medication metformin find the odor off-putting, and some have trouble taking the medication.

The “fishy” odor is especially noticeable in the immediate release versions.

“Metformin is an excellent drug, but the immediate-release formulation may have an odor to it. The smell is fishy or like the inside of an inner tube, and in a patient’s mind, because it smells like something that has gone bad, they may think the drug isn’t good,” explained one of the letter’s authors, J. Russell May, a clinical professor at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy at the Medical College of Georgia.

However, May said, “some metformin products on the market are extended-release and the drug is embedded and released slow, over time. These products have much less smell, if any.”

May and his colleagues wrote the letter to the journal to raise awareness of this issue, especially because nausea is a commonly reported side effect of metformin. “Is it nausea from the medication, or is it because it smells bad?” May said.

The drug’s odor may make it seem like it has gone bad, but doctors have reassured patients that it is just something in the formula of the medication, and the drug is still affective at treating diabetes and is not dangerous.

Bristol-Meyers Squib who is one of the major producers of metformin released a statement saying,

Bristol-Myers Squibb is aware that the inherent characteristics of metformin have been associated with a mild odor upon opening of the bottle, so these type of reports are not unexpected. It’s important to note there has been no correlation between an odor and the efficacy of metformin, which has been on the market in the U.S. since 1995.

Some of the brand versions of metformin that may give off this “fishy” odor are: Glucophage, Glumetza, Fortamet, and Riomet.

Patients prescribed metformin should continue on their regular regiment, but should certainly let their doctor know if they are affected by the smell. They may be able to switch to the extended release version or possibly another brand.

According to analysts, Pfizer was slow to market with Exubera, initially assigning it to a sales team that was not prepared to explain it to doctors, and then not beginning to advertise it until this summer. Some doctors complain the Exubera inhaler costs too much and isn’t covered by many insurers. It also looks like something you would find in a college frat house.

Pfizer vice chairman David Shedlarz responded to this uproar by saying, “Exubera was not our finest day. We made a lot of mistakes with what is a profoundly important therapeutic.”

[Update: Neglected to mention our blatant ripoff of Pharma Giles. We hope this link helps get you back up to #30 in the rankings ]

GlaxoSmithKline on Wednesday took some of the attention away from disappointing sales of diabetes drugs by announcing it was lifting its stock buyback authorization to 12 billion pounds ($24.7 billion).

Experts expected to see Glaxo report a $200 million revenue plunge in sales of Avandia, its diabetes medicine that’s been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks. According to The Times of London, analysts, on average, predicted that global sales of the drug during the three months to June 30 had fallen by 23 per cent to £367 million, compared to £477 million in 2006. (You can double those numbers for the impact in U.S. dollars.)

The drop in sales was even worse, though — to £349 million.

Nonetheless, with the buy-back news, the stock was up Wednesday.

Older drugs controlled blood sugar levels about as well as the thiazolidinediones [Avandia] did. There were some differences, however, in other effects.

Thiazolidinediones were the only drugs that increased HDL “good” cholesterol levels, but they also increased LDL “bad” cholesterol levels. Metformin reduced LDL cholesterol levels, while the other agents appeared to have no effect on cholesterol levels.

With the exception of metformin, the drugs generally increased body weight by 1 to 5 kilograms. Compared with other drugs, sulfonylureas and repaglinide were tied to increased risks of low blood sugar, thiazolidinediones were linked to heart failure, and metformin raised the risk of stomach and intestinal problems.

“Each oral diabetes agent is associated with adverse events that counterbalance its benefits,” the researchers conclude. “Overall, metformin seemed to have the best profile of benefit to risk.”