Side Effects, Risks, Scientific Advice

• A cheap, decades-old pill, metformin helps treat diabetes and aids weight loss.
• Some studies suggest that it may also help blunt the effects of aging and prevent cancer and dementia.
• New research is underway, but one researcher says older people should ask their doctor about taking them now.

When Dana Bowling started taking metformin in 2010, she wasn’t necessarily interested in losing weight. The 28-year-old had polycystic ovary syndrome, which prevented her from ovulating, so she wanted to have her own family.

Her doctor prescribed metformin at about 10-20 cents per tablet. trigger her cycleIn a matter of months, Bowling lost 10 pounds. That’s a big difference for a 5 foot build.

“I feel like it’s taken off of me,” she told Insider of the weight loss. “Plus, I don’t remember changing my eating habits.”

People Taking Metformin May Lose from 5 To 15 pounds On average, drugs change the way the body regulates blood sugar and often reduce a person’s appetite. It mimics the benefits of fasting and exercise by readjusting the human body. metabolismThe most common side effect of the drug is an upset stomach.

The World Health Organization considers the once-daily pill to be an important public health tool in the fight against type 2 diabetes. Essential medicine This should be on hand in a properly functioning modern healthcare system.

Ann Increase in doctors and scientists And the $5 a month drug, derived from a compound discovered in the common French lilac more than 100 years ago, has promises of doing more than helping patients lose weight and improve blood sugar levels. I also havethink they can do it slow down aging.

Metformin’s effects on metabolism, cells, and how our bodies fight viruses are of interest to biohackers, academics, and clinicians. “Mysterious drug”. they believe it is possible Improve how we agedelay the arrival of cancer, cognitive declineand decreased vision in the elderly.

Brian Johnsonwealthy software entrepreneurs recent headlines Because of his extreme anti-aging routine, he said he uses drugs to prevent precancerous bowel polyps from appearing in his colon and rectum. diabetic patients taking Fewer colonic polypsothers have shown that the drug may Suppresses the growth of colorectal cancer.)

As biologist and noted aging researcher David Sinclair writes in his book: “lifespan,” He takes 1 gram of metformin with yogurt every morning and hopes it helps regulate his metabolism and keep his organs healthier and younger.

Metformin also shows promise as a prophylactic agent against severe and long-term COVID.on a large scale study A group of over 660 overweight people released in 2022, taking metformin as a preventive measure against the virus, are less likely than others to develop severe illness and develop prolonged COVID. It was low. These antiviral effects may extend beyond COVID. 2022 Large Survey of U.S. Veterans In pneumonia, people who took metformin were less likely to die.

Researchers still don’t understand exactly how metformin affects aging and disease, but it’s safe to say it’s doing something.

Metformin is commonly used to treat diabetes through weight loss, but anti-aging researchers believe metformin can do a lot more.

Carolyn Bramante, a metformin researcher who works at the University of Minnesota’s weight management clinic, says she prescribes metformin “fairly often” to patients with diabetes, prediabetes, and weight problems.

It doesn’t work for everyone who wants to shed extra pounds, but some lose “10% or more of their starting weight.”

That’s how Nir Barzilai first encountered metformin about eight years ago, when he was prescribed it to combat pre-diabetes and excess weight.

These days, Barzilai is leaner — and he still takes metformin. We believe it can act as an agent and help people stay healthier and longer.

“I’m no longer pre-diabetic, no longer obese, but I’m not taking metformin. “In my opinion, the evidence is overwhelming.”

of 2020 paper he co-authored a magazine cell metabolism, Barzilai explains how metformin can improve the behavior of cells in the aging body. All deter the effects of aging. The paper also provides evidence that metformin can prevent disease-promoting processes such as oxidative stress.

For all these reasons, metformin has become a daily routine, not just among Silicon Valley biohackers, but many. wealthy doctor I am also on medication now.

Infectious disease specialist takes metformin for weight control

David Ballware, an infectious disease expert in Minnesota doing metformin research with Bramante, said he started taking the drug “intermittently” about six months ago. knew he was infected with — based on his information research for my teampublished in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2022 – a potential antiviral effect was real. There was

He then “researched it some more” and decided to stay on metformin for weight management.

Boulware is still not convinced that there is good scientific evidence that metformin alone helps people live longer and healthier lives. Few scientific studies of metformin for age-related problems blurred vision again cancer Boilerplate words suggesting that the drug may have decent anti-aging properties, but emphasizing that the evidence is inconclusive or more research is needed. tend to have

medicine showed anti aging effect roundworm, mouse, and fruit flies, but that doesn’t automatically lead to good news for humans. Also, almost all the evidence of metformin’s benefits in people has been in people with type 2 diabetes, not in those with normal blood sugar levels.

But at least Bowlware believes it’s important to maintain a healthy weight. teeth Good for aging – and metformin can help with that.

“If you weren’t obese, would you live long? Yes,” he said. “Having a healthy weight is a good thing.”

Major metformin study could spawn a whole new field of anti-aging drugs

Barzilai is now working to launch a first-of-its-kind study called “Targeting Aging with Metformin,” or TAME. To finally answer the question, he wants to conduct a large randomized controlled trial of 3,000 seniors at his 14 medical centers across the country.

Once TAME was funded (Barzilai raised about $23 million of the $75 million needed for the five-year trial), metformin on the incidence of age-related diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. assess the impact of

“We’re looking at one disease at a time, but we don’t understand how the biology of aging drives disease,” he said. “If we can stop the biology of aging, we will get less sick, which is a great sign.”

At this time, insurance companies and FDA scientists do not recognize aging as a condition, and as a result big pharmaceutical companies are less interested in “treating” it. It is the first study the FDA will consider as evidence for a new class of anti-aging drugs called “jelloprotectors” that have never been medically approved in the United States.

Marco Quarta, a regenerative medicine scientist and aging expert, said TAME could be an exciting first step toward establishing credibility in the field.

“It can really pave the way for new approaches. Rubed Life Science, a startup that develops anti-aging drugs. “This is an exciting new field.”

Risks of taking metformin for aging, especially for younger people

But until more definitive research is done, Quarta thinks people should be careful with metformin for anti-aging.

Some people have lost a lot of weight on metformin. Others have not seen the impact.It can cause rare problems like my liver hurts Lactic acid accumulation in the bloodstream.and it has been shown to decline testosterone and inhibit muscle growth. (One of his studies from 2022 also suggests it’s possible. Harm men’s sperm in ways that increase the risk of birth defects.)

“Until we do research to prove or disprove that metformin is beneficial and under what conditions and who can benefit from metformin, we always advise people to exercise caution.

Barzilai himself believes that, for now, off-label metformin for longevity should be limited to those already experiencing the effects of aging. “It’s terrifying to know that I would consider taking metformin for longevity,” he said. recent tweetsreflecting concerns about the drug’s effects on testosterone and muscle.

But when it comes to certain age groups, Barzilai isn’t waiting for his exam results. He encourages his older friends and family to talk to their doctor about metformin now. Both he and his wife take it regularly.

“More and more, the evidence is really overwhelming,” he said.