Actos arrests heart disease in diabetics-study

CHICAGO, March 31 (Reuters) - The popular diabetes pill Actos prevented the build-up of fatty deposits in heart arteries in a study of patients with type 2 diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

They said the Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (4502.T) drug Actos, known generically as pioglitazone, is the first diabetes therapy shown to reduce the progression of atherosclerosis -- a build-up of fat, calcium and other deposits -- within artery walls.

The study of 543 patients by Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic compared two types of medications to treat type 2 diabetes -- Actos or pioglitazone and glimepiride, an older sulfonylurea drug that is among the most commonly used classes of antidiabetic therapies.

Ultrasound measurements of plaque build-up inside the arteries showed Actos stopped the disease and started to reverse it, while plaque continued to accumulate in the arteries of patients who took the older drug .

Nissen presented the findings at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago. (Editing by Dave Zimmerman)