The headline is broadly defensible, but the qualifications matter. Effect sizes vary by population, the strongest claims rest on shorter trials, and credible voices push back on how it's typically framed.
Well, TZDs, like pioglitazone, also known as Actos, help the fat cells start dividing again. But people get fatter. So, increasing the adipose tissue mass can improve insulin resistance. We can give people pioglitazone, for instance, and that will improve insulin resistance. But it makes them fatter. It's not a good medication long-term, but it illustrates a point.
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These are called thiazolidinediones. It's a mouthful. We'll just say TZDs from now on. But TZD medications improve insulin resistance. How do they do this? Well, they do this through signaling of a couple of pathways connected with PPAR, peroxisome proliferator gamma and alpha. And increasing signaling in those pathways means that fat tissue gets bigger.