Lipitor and other statins have already been at the eye of a storm of controversy after the American Heart Association and others released new guidelines greatly expanding the use of Lipitor and other statins—despite the risk of Lipitor diabetes. However, new guidelines published at the end of 2014, this time from the American Diabetes Association, recommend that nearly all people with diabetes use Lipitor or related drugs.

Lipitor and other statins are drugs designed to help reduce the amount of LDL or “bad” cholesterol in the blood. While LDLs are not bad in and of themselves, excessive levels promote the formation of plaque inside blood vessels. This makes blood vessels more narrow and less elastic, forcing the heart to work harder. While drugs like Lipitor may reduce the risk of some heart problems by lowering LDL levels, research has strongly suggested that they may increase the risk of developing type-2 diabetes, particularly in older women.

In 2013, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommended greatly expanded use of statins, in spite of the risk of Lipitor diabetes allegedly linked to the drug. These guidelines considered the level of cholesterol in a patient’s blood, their lifestyle and activity level, their weight, and an overall risk assessment. These new guidelines recommended statins like Lipitor for millions of Americans. However, the new Lipitor guidelines met some resistance and controversy, partially over Lipitor diabetes concerns.

In spite of the controversy, at the end of 2014, the American Diabetes Association issued new Lipitor guidelines for diabetics. These were partially based on the AHA guidelines and related research. The new guidelines call for all diabetics to take Lipitor or other statins, since diabetes is a major risk factor for heart disease, and diabetics are paradoxically not at risk for Lipitor diabetes as they already have diabetes. Since Lipitor and other statins lower the risk of heart disease, they may prove an excellent preventative medication for people with diabetes. Unlike previous guidelines that were based on cholesterol level, the new guidelines look more at general cardiovascular risk factors.

Thousands of lawsuits have been filed over the alleged risk of Lipitor diabetes. These Lipitor lawsuits allege that the makers of Lipitor were aware—or reasonably should have been aware—of the risk of Lipitor diabetes. These lawsuits further allege that drug makers have continued to aggressively promote Lipitor and related drugs, in spite of the risk of Lipitor diabetes.

So many Lipitor lawsuits have been filed that the legal system has created a multidistrict litigation or MDL to handle Lipitor lawsuits. An MDL is a type of coordinated legal action that takes large numbers of similar individual lawsuits and groups them together. Since most Lipitor lawsuits make nearly identical allegations and hinge on the same evidence and testimony, the Lipitor MDL can help the legal system digest all of these different lawsuits more consistently and efficiently.

The Lipitor Diabetes MDL is In re: Lipitor (Atorvastatin Calcium) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation (No. II), MDL No. 2502, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.