About Rezulin

Rezulin (generically called troglitazone) is a prescription medication created by Warner Lambert's Parke-Davis division and designed to treat Type-2 diabetes- that is, a condition typically found in adults where the body becomes resistant to its own insulin. Even before its public release in 1997, Rezulin was known to pose a serious health risk to its users, causing side effects ranging from mild liver damage to complete liver failure. Because of this, on March 22, 2000, the sale and distribution of Rezulin was voluntarily discontinued at the request of the federal Food and Drug Administration.

Rezulin had been designed to help diabetes patients respond better to insulin. While other sugar- (glucose) lowering pills stimulate the pancreas into producing more insulin, Rezulin instead helped the body use its existing insulin more efficiently. As a result, blood glucose control could be improved in people taking Rezulin, while episodes of low blood glucose (hypoglycemia) levels could be reduced.

While there were benefits to the use of Rezulin, the FDA directly attributes numerous liver failure deaths and many additional cases of liver damage to the product.