text_1: Sanofi Obesity Drug Helps Sugar Levels Of Diabetics in Study
text_2: "This story is about a drug which is currently unavailable in the US that may be useful in the arsenal of treatments for diabetes. The story was crafted around the results of one single study recently presented at a meeting. See our primer on ""News From Scientific Meetings"" to learn about the pitfalls in such reporting. The results have not been critically reviewed by experts in the field. In addition, it is not clear as to whether the beneficial effects on cholesterol and triglyceride levels are directly due to the effects of the drug itself or derive from the loss in weight/reduction in food intake by the people in the study. The story mentioned that rimonabant is the first in a new class of drugs that might have use in treating diabetes, but it did not contain much information about its mode of action, how it might be used (alone or in conjunction with other medications and/or lifestyle interventions), or what the nearly 10% discontinuation rate in the trial might suggest. The FDA has raised major concerns about this drug and rates of depression, and that is not clear from the story. Although the title of the story makes it sound like use of this drug in the treatment of type II diabetes is a fait accompli, rather than report on the results from a single story, the article would have better served the reader by presenting the back story – which phases of clinical trials have been completed, what are the concerns associated with the drug's use, and where does it fit in the scheme of diabetes treatment."