TAXUS STENT BENEFICIAL FOR DIABETIC PATIENTS

A recent clinical study shows that Boston Scientific's Taxus Express (2) stent is effective in treating coronary artery disease in diabetic patients, particularly in higher-risk patients requiring insulin.

The company recently released the results of its nine-month stent study, concluding that diabetics were 45 percent less likely to have target lesion revascularization than those using bare metal stents. And patients needing insulin had a 52 percent drop in revascularization.

Diabetic patients using the paclitaxel-eluting stent also were 53 percent less likely to have restenosis than those using bare metal stents. Insulin-using patients had a 55 percent reduction.

The study was presented at the annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics symposium in Washington, D.C.