Controversy Over Diabetes Drug

As a Type 2 diabetic who has benefited significantly from Rezulin, I find your coverage of the medication very troubling indeed (Dec. 15). Reviewing your extensive coverage over the last 14 months, it seems clear that The Times is taking a rather strong position advocating FDA withdrawal of this drug. Your sources are limited to those who support this view, with virtually no reference to the drug’s benefits in curbing diabetes.

Like many prescription drugs, Rezulin can have devastating side effects. But a doctor’s supervision and careful monitoring of liver function can significantly mitigate the risk. Rezulin is an extremely effective diabetes medication. Since I began using Rezulin two years ago, laboratory blood tests have improved steadily to the point that my blood sugar is now within the normal range for the nondiabetic population. The FDA believes that the benefits from this drug continue to outweigh its risks, and there is no doubt it is far more qualified than you to make that judgment.

TED GIBSON

Sacramento

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I want to compliment The Times for its superb, researched-in-depth article on the FDA. I have always been proud of the FDA’s history of integrity. If FDA officials approved a drug, it was almost always OK to prescribe it for patients. I say “almost” because even they could not always predict certain long-term effects.

But now they have lost that sparkling sheen of trustworthiness by letting themselves be overwhelmed by the grubbiness of commerce, even unto approving dangerous drugs like Rezulin.

I remember how proud I was when our FDA rejected what turned out to be the horribly damaging thalidomide.

LOUIS S. LYONS MD

Woodland Hills