A government report into new forms of diabetic medication that are currently hitting the market has concluded that the generic, and much older, drug Metformin is just as effective, and has fewer side effects. Furthermore, an important factor for many healthcare services and diabetics themselves, it is cheaper.
The report was conducted by a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, and issued by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. According to researchers, those people who take Metformin will gain less weight that those diabetic patients taking Actos, Avandia or other new medication.
The researchers, from the John Hopkins University, reviewed over 200 studies in order to put together an accurate comparison of the cost, risk and effectiveness of both new and old diabetes drugs. The study is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine .

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