Metformin and neurodegenerative diseases
The research results are contradictory
Anna Stavina, XX2 century, based on materials Diabetes.co.uk : Metformin use does not help beat cognitive impairment as previously thought
Some studies have shown that the hypoglycemic drug metformin, used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, reduces the risk of cognitive impairment in elderly patients. Theoretically, this would be quite logical, since diabetes itself is a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. However, a new large-scale work has demonstrated that long-term use of metformin not only does not reduce the risk of these diseases, but even increases it.
Scientists know that reduced insulin sensitivity affects the work of memory. In addition, it prevents insulin from working normally, in particular, preventing the formation of plaques in Alzheimer's disease. In some studies, it has been shown that short-term use of metformin can indeed protect against the development of cognitive impairment by correcting insulin sensitivity. In addition, such therapy promotes the formation of new neurons.
The authors of the new work demonstrated that this effect persists for a limited period of time. A group of researchers from Taipei Medical University followed 9300 patients suffering from type 2 diabetes for 12 years. As a result, scientists concluded that long-term use of metformin increases the risk of developing both Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.
The study showed that the longer the patient took metformin (in particular, more than 300 days and at a dosage of more than 240 mg), the higher the likelihood of neurodegenerative diseases in the future. Over 12 years of follow-up, it turned out that the risk of developing Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases in those who used metformin was higher by more than 50% compared to those who did not drink this drug. The link persisted even after the researchers took into account other known risk factors — gender, age and severity of diabetes mellitus. It is not known, however, whether other drugs for the treatment of diabetes, such as insulin or sulfonylureas, affected the likelihood of developing neurodegenerative diseases.
The results of the work were unexpected for its authors. Not so long ago, in another large-scale study conducted at Tulane University of Louisiana (Tulane University of Louisiana), the opposite results were obtained. The work was based on the observation of 6000 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, it demonstrated that the longer the patient takes metformin, the lower the risk of cognitive impairment. Since the results of these studies clearly contradict each other, additional large-scale work is required that will answer the question whether metformin really reduces the likelihood of neurodegenerative diseases.
The results of the new study were presented at the 13th International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases (13th International Conference on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases).
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19.04.2017