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On June 15, 2011, the United States Food and Drug Administration informed the public that using the drug Actos, commonly prescribed in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, has been positively associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer. Actos is manufactured by a Japanese pharmaceutical company, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and is typically sold either as a single-ingredient product or in combination with the drug metformin. Actos is prescribed, along with diet and exercise, to help control blood sugar in adults. Initially the FDA's safety warnings were based on a five-year interim analysis of an ongoing ten year study regarding the risks for those taking Actos.

Independent association of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin d and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin d levels with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.\nDobnig H, Pilz S, Scharnagl H, Renner W, Seelhorst U, Wellnitz B, Kinkeldei J, Boehm BO, Weihrauch G, Maerz W.\nArch Intern Med. 2008 Jun 23;168(12):1340-9.\nPMID: 18574092

If you've been following the Track Your Plaque conversation, you know that, contrary to prevailing opinion among many cardiologists, there is an emerging notion that coronary calcification is an active process, a true part of the disease. Vitamin D3 is an important aspect of this question. So is vitamin K2. Not to be confused with K1 that plays a role in blood coagulation, K2 has an important role in calcium metabolism. Thus, vitmain K2 deficiency is related to osteoporosis and to coronary calcification.

Scientists have long known that a lack of vitamin D can weaken our bones. A new study shows that low levels of this nutrient may also be linked to a higher chance of dying early from heart and circulation problems, as well as other causes.

Vitamin d and its role in cancer and immunity: a prescription for sunlight. Mullin GE, Dobs A. Nutr Clin Pract. 2007 Jun;22(3):305-22. Review. PMID: 17507731 (free full text PDF available)

Dietary linolenic acid is inversely associated with calcified atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary arteries: the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study. Djoussé L, Arnett DK, Carr JJ, Eckfeldt JH, Hopkins PN, Province MA, Ellison RC; Investigators of the NHLBI FHS. Circulation. 2005 Jun 7;111(22):2921-6. Epub 2005 May 31. PMID: 15927976 doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.104.489534

Chatfield SM, Brand C, Ebeling PR, Russell DM. Vitamin D deficiency in general medical inpatients in summer and winter. Intern Med J. 2007 Jun;37(6):377-82. PMID: 17535381 [PubMed - in process]

The pathobiology of diabetic complications: a unifying mechanism. Brownlee M. Diabetes. 2005 Jun;54(6):1615-25. PMID: 15919781 doi: 10.2337/diabetes.54.6.1615