Doubts Over ‘Metabolic Syndrome’

LONDON (Reuters) – The world’s top two diabetes organizations have questioned the existence of a medical condition widely cited by drug firms, in a move that could hamper prospects for Sanofi-Aventis’s (SASY.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) new drug Acomplia.

The American Diabetes Association and European Association for the Study of Diabetes said in a joint statement on Thursday that “metabolic syndrome” — which has come to be seen as a predictor of cardiovascular disease — was poorly defined, inconsistently used and in need of further research.

Doctors should not diagnose people with the “syndrome” or treat it as a separate condition until the science behind it is clear, according to a paper to be published in the September issue of Diabetes Care and Diabetologia.

“There is no combination of risk factors that boosts a person’s cardiovascular risk beyond the sum of the parts, or constitutes a separate disease,” said Dr Ele Ferrannini, president of the European diabetes association.