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"Effect of rosiglitazone on the frequency of diabetes in patients with impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose: a randomised controlled trial," by the DREAM (Diabetes REduction Assessment with ramipril and rosiglitazone Medication) Trial Investigators [H.C. Gerstein, et al.], Lancet, 368(9541): 1096-1105, 23-29 September 2006.

[Corresponding address: Population Health Research Institute, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada]

Abstract: "Background Rosiglitazone is a thiazolidinedione that reduces insulin resistance and might preserve insulin secretion. The aim of this study was to assess prospectively the drug's ability to prevent type 2 diabetes in individuals at high risk of developing the condition. Methods 5269 adults aged 30 years or more with impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance, or both, and no previous cardiovascular disease were recruited from 191 sites in 21 countries and randomly assigned to receive rosiglitazone (8 mg daily; n=2365) or placebo (2634) and followed for a median of 3 years. The primary outcome was a composite of incident diabetes or death. Analyses were done by intention to treat. Findings At the end of study, 59 individuals had dropped out from the rosiglitazone group and 46 from the placebo group. 306 (11.6%) individuals given rosiglitazone and 686 (26.0%) given placebo developed the composite primary outcome (hazard ratio 0.40, 95%
CI 0.35-0.46; p<0.0001); 1330 (50.5%) individuals in the rosiglitazone group and 798 (30.3%) in the placebo group became normoglycaemic (1.71,1-57-1.87; p<0.0001). Cardiovascular event rates were much the same in both groups, although 14 (0.5%) participants in the rosiglitazone group and two (0.1%) in the placebo group developed heart failure (p=0.01). Interpretation Rosiglitazone at 8 mg daily for 3 years substantially reduces incident type 2 diabetes and increases the likelihood of regression to normoglycaemia in adults with impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance, or both."

This 2006 report from The Lancet was cited 52 times in current journal articles indexed by Thomson Scientific during September-October 2007. During that two-month period, only one other medicine paper published in the last two years, aside from reviews, collected a higher number of citations. Prior to the most recent bimonthly count, citations to the paper have accrued as follows:

July-August 2007: 30 citations
May-June 2007: 29
March-April 2007: 13
January-February 2007: 14
November-December 2006: 15
September-October 2006: 4

Total citations to date: 157

SOURCE: Hot Papers Database (Included with a subscription to the print newsletter Science Watch^®, available from the Research Services Group of Thomson Scientific. Packaged on a CD that is mailed with each Science Watch issue, the Hot Papers Database contains data on hundreds of highly cited papers published during the last two years. User interface permits searching by author, organization, journal, field, and more. Total citations, as well as citations accrued during successive bimonthly periods, can be assessed and graphed. An updated CD containing the most recent bimonthly data is mailed with every new issue of Science Watch, six times a year. The CD also includes an electronic version of the Science Watch issue in HTML format, for personal desktop access.