News tagged with metformin
Diabetes drug metformin makes brain cells grow
The widely used diabetes drug metformin comes with a rather unexpected and alluring side effect: it encourages the growth of new neurons in the brain. The study reported in the July 6th issue of Cell Stem Cell also finds ...
Medical research
Jul 05, 2012 |
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Scientists use diabetes drug in double hit to starve cancer cells
(Medical Xpress) -- UK scientists have discovered how blocking a key controller of energy production in cancer cells and treating them with a diabetes drug, metformin, effectively starves cancer cells. The research1 is published ...
Cancer
Aug 29, 2011 |
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Study unravels central mystery of Alzheimer's disease
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have shed light on one of the major toxic mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease. The discoveries could lead to a much better understanding of the Alzheimer's process and how ...
Neuroscience
Apr 10, 2013 |
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Treating prediabetes might prevent full-blown disease
(HealthDay) -- Treating prediabetes aggressively with lifestyle changes and medications may prevent its progression to diabetes, a new study finds.
Diabetes
Jun 10, 2012 |
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Metformin improves blood glucose levels and BMI in very obese children
Metformin therapy has a beneficial treatment effect over placebo in improving body mass index (BMI) and fasting glucose levels in obese children, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's ...
Diabetes
Dec 10, 2012 |
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Study: Most-used diabetes drug works in different way than previously thought
A team, led by senior author Morris J. Birnbaum, MD, PhD, the Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor of Medicine, with the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University ...
Diabetes
Jan 06, 2013 |
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Diabetes drug metformin shows promise in reducing risk of cancer
An inexpensive drug that treats Type-2 diabetes has been shown to prevent a number of natural and man-made chemicals from stimulating the growth of breast cancer cells, according to a newly published study by a Michigan State ...
Cancer
Nov 23, 2011 |
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Solving the mystery of an old diabetes drug that may reduce cancer risk
In 2005, news first broke that researchers in Scotland found unexpectedly low rates of cancer among diabetics taking metformin, a drug commonly prescribed to patients with Type II diabetes. Many follow-up studies reported ...
Cancer
Jan 18, 2012 |
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Popular diabetes meds put to the test
(HealthDay)—Patients with diabetes who were treated with the popular oral medication metformin face a lower risk of heart attack, stroke or death than those taking sulfonylureas, another common option, ...
Diabetes
Nov 06, 2012 |
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Common diabetes drug may help treat ovarian cancer
A new study suggests that the common diabetes medication metformin may be considered for use in the prevention or treatment of ovarian cancer. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer ...
Cancer
Dec 03, 2012 |
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Team discovers how drug prevents aging and cancer progression
University of Montreal researchers have discovered a novel molecular mechanism that can potentially slows the aging process and may prevent the progression of some cancers. In the March 23 online edition of the prestigious ...
Medical research
Mar 27, 2013 |
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Diabetes drug makes lung cancer vulnerable to radiotherapy
The diabetes drug metformin slows the growth of lung cancer cells and makes them more likely to be killed by radiotherapy, according to a study published in the British Journal of Cancer today.
Cancer
May 01, 2013 |
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Study reveals how diabetes drug delays ageing in worms
A widely prescribed type 2 diabetes drug slows down the ageing process by mimicking the effects of dieting, according to a study published today using worms to investigate how the drug works.
Medical research
Mar 28, 2013 |
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Metformin and exercise combination less effective for glucose control
University of Alberta researchers looking at the effects of metformin and exercise in Type 2 diabetes patients found that a combination of these modalities didn't lower glucose control as much as hoped. Surprisingly, study ...
Health
Aug 19, 2011 |
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Diabetes drug halts atherosclerosis progression in HIV-infected patients
Treatment with the common diabetes drug metformin appears to prevent progression of coronary atherosclerosis in patients infected with HIV. In a presentation today at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic ...
HIV & AIDS
Mar 07, 2012 |
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Metformin
Metformin (INN, pronounced /mɛtˈfɔrmɨn/, met-fawr-min; originally sold as Glucophage) is an oral antidiabetic drug in the biguanide class. It is the first-line drug of choice for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, in particular, in overweight and obese people and those with normal kidney function. Evidence is also mounting for its efficacy in gestational diabetes, although safety concerns still preclude its widespread use in this setting. It is also used in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome, and has been investigated for other diseases where insulin resistance may be an important factor.
When prescribed appropriately, metformin causes few adverse effects—the most common is gastrointestinal upset—and is associated with a low risk of hypoglycemia. Lactic acidosis (a buildup of lactate in the blood) can be a serious concern in overdose and when it is prescribed to people with contraindications, but otherwise, there is no significant risk. Metformin helps reduce LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and is not associated with weight gain, and is the only antidiabetic drug that has been conclusively shown to prevent the cardiovascular complications of diabetes. As of 2010[update], metformin is one of only two oral antidiabetics in the World Health Organization Model List of Essential Medicines (the other being glibenclamide).
First synthesized and found to reduce blood sugar in the 1920s, metformin was forgotten for the next two decades as research shifted to insulin and other antidiabetic drugs. Interest in metformin was rekindled in the late 1940s after several reports that it could reduce blood sugar levels in people, and in 1957, French physician Jean Sterne published the first clinical trial of metformin as a treatment for diabetes. It was introduced to the United Kingdom in 1958, Canada in 1972, and the United States in 1995. Metformin is now believed to be the most widely prescribed antidiabetic drug in the world; in the United States alone, more than 48 million prescriptions were filled in 2010 for its generic formulations.
For more information about Metformin, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
