Side Effects:

Common Weight gain, Blurred vision, Respiratory tract infection, Numbness, Bone fracture.

Expert advice for Pioglaz Tablet
Pioglaz helps to control blood sugar level and avoids long-term complications. You should continue to exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, and take your other diabetes medicines along with Pioglaz. Full effect may be visible after several weeks of starting Pioglaz. Weight gain, headache, and swelling due to fluid build-up may occur. Notify your doctor if you experience shortness of breath, heart problems, or any abnormal swelling. May not be suitable for patients with a history of heart failure or bladder cancer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is Pioglaz a blood thinner?
No. Pioglaz is an anti-diabetic medication. Blood thinners are the medicine that prevents the formation of a harmful blood clot. These include medicines like Aspirin, Heparin and Warfarin.

Q. Is Pioglaz a diuretic?
No. Pioglaz is not a diuretic. It is used in the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus. Diuretics are those medicine which increases urination.

Q. Can Pioglaz used in Hepatitis B infection?
Some studies have shown that Pioglaz may be helpful in preventing Hepatitis B Virus-associated Hepatocellular Cancer (Liver Cancer). However, these findings are still very preliminary and clear role has not been established.

Q. Can Pioglaz used in Hepatitis C infection?
Pioglaz has been shown to inhibit Liver Cancer (HCC) recurrence in overweight Hepatitis C Virus-infected diabetic patients. It also improved insulin resistance (a state where the body is resistant to the effects and functions of the insulin hormone) in them.

Q. Can Pioglaz used along with Vitamin D?
Studies indicate that Vitamin-D combined with Pioglaz may be more effective in improving Bone Mineral Density and Bone Metabolism than Vitamin-D or Pioglaz alone in the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus patients with kidney dysfunction (Diabetic Nephropathy).

Q. Can Pioglaz be used along with sitagliptin?
Combination therapy with Sitagliptin and Pioglaz leads to a substantial and sustained improvement in glycemic (blood sugar) control compared to the treatment with Pioglaz alone. This is useful for patients who cannot tolerate Metformin or Sulfonylureas.

Q. Is there any role of Pioglaz in Alzheimer disease?
Recent evidence suggests that Pioglaz may be beneficial in Alzheimer's disease (AD), decreasing the cognitive decline early in the disease process. However, larger studies are now in progress to establish the same.

Q. Can Pioglaz and repaglinide combined in diabetes treatment?
For patients who previously failed oral antidiabetic therapy, the combination of Repaglinide and Pioglaz have acceptable safety, with greater reductions of glycemic parameters (blood sugar levels) than using either agent alone.

Q. Does Pioglaz cause urinary bladder tumour?
Large population studies indicate that Pioglaz is associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer. The absence of an association of bladder cancer with the other drug of the same class, Rosiglitazone, suggests that the increased risk is drug specific and not a class effect.

Q. Are Pioglaz and rosiglitazone same?
Pioglaz & Rosiglitazone both belong to a class of antidiabetics called Thiazolidinediones. Rosiglitazone has been removed from the market because using this drug was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke. This is not seen with Pioglaz.

Q. Can Pioglaz be used along with glimepiride in diabetes?
Pioglaz when added to Glimepiride in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus, has been found to significantly reduce plasma lipid levels and significant improvement in blood pressure control related to a reduction in the insulin resistance.

Q. Is Pioglaz a steroid?
No. Pioglaz is not a steroid. It is an anti-diabetic medication which belongs to the class of thiazolidinediones.

Q. How to use Pioglaz?
Pioglaz is an anti-diabetes drug used along with a proper diet and exercise program to control high blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes. Pioglaz acts as an insulin sensitizer and decreases the extent of insulin resistance in the body too.

Q. How safe is Pioglaz?
Pioglaz cardiovascular safety profile compares favourably with that of Rosiglitazone. Pioglaz has been found to be associated with bladder tumours but causality assessment has not been proved yet.

Q. How does Pioglaz cause oedema?
Pioglaz increases the permeability of fluid in tiny blood vessels called capillaries. This results in easier movement of fluids across the membrane and their consequent accumulation, resulting in oedema (puffiness). Also, Pioglaz causes increased sodium and water reabsorption from the kidney that contributes to the oedema.

Q. How does Pioglaz cause bladder cancer?
The mechanism behind the link between Pioglaz use and bladder cancer is still unknown. Studies have suggested that use of Pioglaz for more than one year results in increased risk of development of tumour of the urinary bladder.

Q. How does Pioglaz cause heart failure?
Pioglaz can cause fluid retention and edema. Consequently, there is a lot of fluid in the body (fluid overload). As a result, it may precipitate heart failure (which worsens with fluid overload in those at risk).

Q. How Pioglaz protects against atherosclerosis?
Studies in animals have concluded that Pioglaz improves the elasticity of the aortic wall ( the aorta is a large blood vessel that arises from the heart and supplies oxygenated blood to the rest of the body). This may be a mechanism by which it protects against atherosclerosis, but more studies are needed to confirm this.

Q. Can Pioglaz be used with insulin?
The addition of Pioglaz reduces daily insulin dosages, but study findings have not been consistent. Improvement of lipid profiles has also been weak with this combination therapy. Long-term studies are needed before any conclusions can be reached. Combination therapy should be primarily used for patients who achieve an insufficient reduction in blood sugar with insulin alone.

Q. Which is not safe in heart failure, Pioglaz or rosiglitazone?
Pioglaz & Rosiglitazone both belong to a class of antidiabetics called Thiazolidinediones. Rosiglitazone has been removed from the market because using this drug was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke. Pioglaz can cause heart failure too, but the risk is less that that with Rosiglitazone. Both the medicines should be avoided in heart failure.

Q. What are the alternatives to Pioglaz?
Fortunately, there are many alternatives to Pioglaz- Metformin, Acarbose, Sitagliptin, Exenatide, Insulin or combination therapies of these medicines can be used.

Q. Can Pioglaz used for dementia?
Findings indicate that Pioglaz treatment is associated with a reduced dementia risk in Diabetes mellitus patients. Prospective studies are needed to evaluate a possible neuroprotective effect in these patients in an ageing population.

Q. Can Pioglaz used for infertility?
Pioglaz may be of use in infertile patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who are resistant to conventional ovulation induction such as by drugs like Clomiphene, Dexamethasone, or Metformin.

Q. Can Pioglaz used for psoriasis?
The use of Pioglaz for plaque psoriasis treatment is controversial. Some studies revealed no effect of Pioglaz 30 mg daily neither on the clinical response of moderate-to-severe psoriasis whereas others demonstrate that it could be considered as an efficacious and safe agent for the treatment of plaque psoriasis.

Q. Can Pioglaz used for autism?
In a research study in a small number of autistic children, daily treatment with 30 or 60 mg Pioglaz for 3–4 months induced apparent clinical improvement. Pioglaz should be considered for further testing of therapeutic potential in autistic patients but as of now, autism is not an approved indication for Pioglaz use.

Q. Can Pioglaz be used in depression?
Pioglaz, either alone or as add-on therapy to conventional treatments, could clinically benefit patients of major depression according to a study.

Q. Can Pioglaz used for weight loss?
A recent study shows that although Pioglaz causes a significant decrease in blood sugar, HbA1C and lipid levels, it is associated with weight gain, which would limit its utility. It has not been shown to cause weight loss.

Q. Can Pioglaz be used to treat fatty liver?
Pioglaz has also been used to treat non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (fatty liver), but this use is presently considered experimental.

Q. Can Pioglaz be used for secondary stroke prevention?
Pioglaz reduces recurrent stroke and major vascular events in stroke patients with insulin resistance, prediabetes, and diabetes mellitus. However, its use as a preventive therapy requires more research.