In the journal Nature Medicine, researchers from the Institute of Medical Sciences of the University of Toronto in Canada and the Toronto Children’s Hospital published the results of the test: For children with brain tumors who have received craniocerebral radiotherapy, metformin is significantly better than placebo Improved their working memory and statement memory function, repaired white matter damage.
The researchers concluded that clinical trials to examine the effects of metformin on cognition and brain structure in long-term survivors of childhood brain tumors are feasible. Metformin is safe to use and tolerable in this population. The trial did not specifically test the effects of metformin on cognitive recovery and brain growth, but the preliminary results are encouraging and deserve further study in a large multicenter phase 3 trial.
According to the analysis of Singularity.com, the researchers used different tests to analyze the recovery of the three types of cognitive functions of patients: impaired working memory, declarative memory, and information processing speed. The results showed that the effect of metformin was significantly better than that of placebo, especially for working memory and declarative memory, and that patients who used metformin first and then used placebo had better cognitive recovery than patients who received placebo and then metformin.
In addition, they investigated whether the pharmacological stimulation of endogenous neural precursor cells (NPC) can promote cognitive recovery and brain repair in parallel rodent and human radiation injury studies, with the focus on the drug metformin. In a rodent skull radiation model, they found that metformin enhanced the recovery of NPC in the dentate gyrus and was gender-dependent on neurogenesis and cognition.
In the end, the researchers believe that metformin is tolerable and safe for children with brain tumors after radiotherapy. It also initially shows the recovery of cognitive function, which is similar to the previously discovered elderly patients with type 2 diabetes taking metformin. The incidence of dementia is low, and the ability of audiovisual memory is stronger.
Lots of record: 24 new discoveries
Data shows that as a global core diabetes drug, metformin has a total market size of more than 6 billion yuan in sales terminals such as public medical institutions and physical pharmacies in China in 2018. As a generic drug, Cyperan uses "metformin" as a generic drug on the official website of the State Drug Administration. Keyword search, a total of 306 approval documents, involving a large number of enterprises.
With the deepening of research, the therapeutic potential of the magic drug metformin has been continuously expanded. This is the first time that it has been able to treat brain damage and promote cognitive recovery. In the future, we look forward to further expansion of these studies in the clinic.
1. Weight loss
Metformin is a hypoglycemic agent that can lose weight. It can increase insulin sensitivity and reduce fat synthesis. For many type 2 sugar lovers, weight loss itself is a thing that is conducive to stable blood sugar control.
A study by the United States Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) research team showed that patients who received metformin treatment lost an average of 3.1 kilograms in weight during an unblinded study period of 7-8 years.
2. Anti-aging effect
A few days ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a clinical trial of “metformin against aging”. The reason why foreign scientists use metformin as an anti-aging drug candidate may be because metformin can increase the number of oxygen molecules released into cells. Above all, this seems to increase the body's fitness and prolong life.
3. Reverse biological age
The official website of the international science and technology journal "Nature" published a blockbuster news. The report showed that a small clinical study in California showed for the first time that it is possible to reverse the human epigenetic clock. In the past year, nine healthy volunteers took a mixture of growth hormone and two diabetes drugs, including metformin. Measured by analyzing the markers on a person's genome, their biological age has dropped by an average of 2.5 years.
4. Anti-smog
Studies have shown that a team led by Professor Scott Budinger of Northwestern University in the United States confirmed in mice that metformin can prevent inflammation caused by smog, prevent immune cells from releasing a dangerous molecule into the blood, inhibit the formation of arterial thrombosis, and reduce the heart The risk of vascular disease.
5. Assist smoking cessation
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found that long-term nicotine use can lead to the activation of the AMPK signaling pathway, which is inhibited when nicotine withdrawal. Therefore, they inferred that if drugs were used to activate the AMPK signaling pathway, they might alleviate withdrawal.
Metformin is an AMPK agonist. When the researchers gave metformin to mice that had nicotine withdrawal, they found that it relieved the mice's withdrawal. Their research shows that metformin can be used to help quit smoking.
6. Anti-inflammatory
Preclinical studies and clinical studies have shown that metformin not only improves chronic inflammation by improving metabolic parameters such as hyperglycemia, insulin resistance and atherosclerotic dyslipidemia, but also has a direct anti-inflammatory effect.
Studies have pointed out that metformin can inhibit inflammation, mainly through AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-dependent or independent inhibition of nuclear transcription factor B (NFB).
7. It can promote hair growth and treat hair loss
The team of Huang Jing, a Chinese scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that drugs such as metformin and rapamycin can stimulate the hair follicles in the resting phase of mice to enter the growth phase and promote hair growth. Related research has been published in the famous academic journal Cell Reports.
Moreover, when using metformin to treat patients with polycystic ovary syndrome in China and India, scientists have also observed that metformin is associated with reduced hair loss.
In addition, different research results show that there are new discoveries about metformin in some diseases that affect women's health.
8. Reduce the risk of miscarriage and preterm delivery for certain pregnant women
A study in The Lancet showed that metformin may reduce the risk of miscarriage and preterm delivery in certain pregnant women.
According to reports, scientists from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and St. Olavs Hospital conducted a nearly 20-year study and found that patients with polycystic ovary syndrome taking metformin at the end of the third month of pregnancy may reduce post-term miscarriage and miscarriage. Risk of premature birth.
9. Improve polycystic ovary syndrome
Polycystic ovary syndrome is a heterogeneous disease characterized by hyperandrogenemia, ovarian dysfunction, and polycystic ovary morphology. Its pathogenesis is unclear, and patients often have different degrees of hyperinsulinemia. Studies have shown that metformin can reduce insulin resistance, restore its ovulation function, and improve hyperandrogenemia.
10. Combination medication may treat triple-negative breast cancer
The team led by Dr. Marsha rich rosner of the University of Chicago found that the combination of metformin and another old drug, heme (panhematin), can target the treatment of triple negative breast cancer that seriously threatens women’s health.
And there is evidence that this treatment strategy may be effective for a variety of cancers such as lung cancer, kidney cancer, uterine cancer, prostate cancer, and acute myeloid leukemia. Related research has been published in the top journal Nature.
11. Cardiovascular protection
Metformin has cardiovascular protective effects and is currently the only hypoglycemic drug recommended by the diabetes guidelines as having clear evidence of cardiovascular benefit. Studies have shown that long-term treatment of metformin is significantly associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients and type 2 diabetic patients who have developed cardiovascular disease.
12. Improve intestinal flora
Studies have shown that metformin can restore the proportion of intestinal flora and make it change in a healthy direction. Provide an advantageous living environment for the beneficial bacteria in the intestines, thereby lowering blood sugar and positively regulating the immune system.
13. It is expected to treat some autism
Recently, researchers at McGill University discovered that metformin can treat certain forms of Fragile X syndrome with autism, and this innovative study was published in the journal NatureMedicine, a subsidiary of Nature. At present, autism is one of many medical conditions that scientists believe can be treated with metformin.
14. Reverse pulmonary fibrosis
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that in human patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and in mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis induced by bleomycin, the activity of AMPK in fibrotic tissues is reduced, and the tissues resist cells Apoptotic myofibroblasts increased.
The use of metformin to activate AMPK in myofibroblasts can re-sensitize these cells to apoptosis. Moreover, in the mouse model, metformin can accelerate the ablation of the already produced fibrotic tissue. This study shows that metformin or other AMPK agonists can be used to reverse fibrosis that has already occurred.
15. Reverse cognitive impairment
Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas have created a mouse model that mimics pain-related cognitive impairment. They used this model to test the efficacy of multiple drugs.
Experimental results show that treatment of mice with 200 mg/kg body weight of metformin for 7 days can completely reverse the cognitive impairment caused by pain.
Gabapentin, which treats neuralgia and epilepsy, has no such effect. This means that metformin can be used as an old drug to treat cognitive impairment in patients with neuralgia.
16, inhibit tumor growth
A few days ago, according to Singularity.com, scholars from the European Institute of Oncology discovered that metformin and fasting can work synergistically to inhibit the growth of tumors in mice.
Through further research, it was found that metformin and fasting inhibit tumor growth through the PP2A-GSK3β-MCL-1 pathway. The research was published on Cancer Cell.
17, can prevent macular degeneration
Dr. Yu-Yen Chen from Taichung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan, China, recently discovered that the incidence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in patients with type 2 diabetes taking metformin is significantly lower. This indicates that while controlling diabetes, the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant functions of metformin have a protective effect on AMD.
18. May reduce adverse effects of glucocorticoids
Recently, "The Lancet-Diabetes and Endocrinology" published a study-the results of the study showed that in a phase 2 clinical trial, metformin used in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases can improve metabolic health and reduce glucocorticoid treatment Serious side effects.
Experiments have suggested that metformin may act through the key metabolic protein AMPK, and the mechanism of action is exactly the opposite of glucocorticoids, and has the potential to reverse the side effects of massive use of glucocorticoids.
19. Hope to treat multiple sclerosis
Previously, a research team led by Robin JM Franklin of the University of Cambridge and his disciple Peter van Wijngaarden published an article in the top journal "Cell Stem Cells" that they found a special type of aging neural stem cells that can recover after treatment with metformin In response to differentiation-promoting signals, it reappears youthful vitality and further promotes the regeneration of nerve myelin.
This discovery means that metformin is expected to be used in the treatment of irreversible neurodegeneration-related diseases, such as multiple sclerosis.
20. It is expected to improve the risk of kidney failure and death from kidney disease
WuXi AppTec's content team Medical New Vision released news that a study of 10,000 people showed that metformin may improve the risk of kidney failure and death from kidney disease.
A study published in the American Diabetes Association (ADA) journal "Diabetes Care" (Diabetes Care) showed that the medication and survival analysis of more than 10,000 people showed that type 2 diabetes patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) take Metformin is associated with a reduction in the risk of death and end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and does not increase the risk of lactic acidosis.
Although there are so many exciting discoveries about metformin, the medicine is three points poisonous. Don't buy the medicine yourself and use it under the guidance of a doctor.
21. It can protect the stomach and reduce the risk of stomach cancer
Recently, the official website of "Cell Stem Cell", a subsidiary of the world's top scientific journal "CELL", has updated the latest research on metformin: Metformin can regulate the metabolism of stem cells in the stomach and promote their differentiation into gastric parietal cells that produce gastric acid.
Studies have shown that the AMPK metabolic pathway promotes stem cells to produce acid-secreting parietal cells. Metformin slows down the proliferation of progenitor cells by activating AMPK and KLF4. It can also induce parietal cell maturation by activating AMPK and PGC1a. This is why metformin increases acid secretion and Lowering people's risk of stomach cancer provides potential hints.
In addition, a 2018 study showed that the use of metformin reduced the risk of gastric cancer by 51% in diabetic patients with Helicobacter pylori eradicated in a sustained and dose-responsive manner.
22. Take preoperatively to reduce patient mortality
According to WuXi AppTec's account medicine new perspective news, a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association-Surgery found that the classic hypoglycemic drug metformin has another benefit in addition to blood sugar control: taking metformin before surgery may It is related to the postoperative mortality of diabetic patients and the reduced risk of readmission.
23. Extend the survival time of patients with advanced bowel cancer with KRAS mutations
According to Singularity.com, recently, a team of Chinese scientists, Gao Guoquan and his team at Zhongshan Medical College, Sun Yat-sen University published important research results in the famous journal PNAS.
They analyzed the treatment data of thousands of patients with advanced bowel cancer and found that among patients with advanced bowel cancer with KRAS mutations, compared with other types of hypoglycemic drugs, the overall survival time of intestinal cancer patients who took metformin was 37.8 times longer. Months, the median progression-free survival time (mPFS) was extended by 8.1 months.
24. Preventing cancer and stroke trends
According to news from the new medical perspective, the 80th Scientific Meeting of the American Diabetes Association (2020 ADA Annual Meeting) announced the latest data from the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcome Study (DPPOS)-Metformin has continued to reduce the risk of diabetes for 22 years, showing the trend of preventing cancer and stroke.
