1. Metformin hydrochloride is a biguanide oral hypoglycemic drug. It was officially used in clinical practice in the United Kingdom as early as 1957. It has become a global classic oral hypoglycemic drug for decades. In addition to its role, it also has the functions of weight loss, anti-aging, anti-tumor, prevention of cardiovascular disease, treatment of obstetrics and gynecology diseases, etc. It can even fight the damage to the body caused by smog… It is regarded as a “magic medicine”.
2. Metformin hydrochloride therapeutic area
2.1 First-line treatment of hypoglycemic drugs
In 1995, metformin hydrochloride tablets (trade name: Glucophage/Glucophage) were approved for marketing in the United States, and the indication was type 2 diabetes. Subsequent preparations of metformin hydrochloride combined with other anti-glycemic mechanisms of hypoglycemic drugs were approved for marketing. The 2013 edition of the diabetes guidelines pointed out that metformin is the first-line drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. If there is no contraindication, metformin should always be retained in the treatment regimen of type 2 diabetes.
The hypoglycemic principles of metformin include: improving insulin sensitivity; reducing hepatic glucose output; activating glucagon-like peptide 1 to promote glucose-dependent insulin secretion, thereby improving blood sugar; it can promote hypoglycemic effect by regulating gut microbes.
2.2 Effects other than hypoglycemic
As a safe and effective hypoglycemic drug, metformin is widely used in clinical practice, so that there are a lot of epidemiological data to discover the role and impact of metformin on other diseases.
(1) Lowering blood sugar and blood lipids at the same time, improving body fat rate
Clinical studies have shown that metformin can prevent various complications caused by diabetes: it can not only control the blood sugar of patients, but also improve the body fat rate of patients, achieve effective control of blood pressure and blood lipids, and effectively reduce the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases of patients. It also reduces the risk of disease onset, reduces plasma insulin levels, reduces insulin resistance, lowers LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol levels, and plays an important reversal role in prediabetes. Obese patients with type 2 diabetes should be prioritized for metformin therapy.
(2) Anti-tumor effect
With the in-depth study of metformin, it has been found in a large number of in vitro and in vivo experiments that metformin treatment is associated with a reduction in the risk of cancer, and the protective effect of metformin tends to increase with the prolongation of time and frequency of use. This mechanism inhibits the growth of tumor cells.
(3) Delay aging
Metformin can affect a variety of cell signaling pathways closely related to aging, such as inflammation, cell survival, stress defense, autophagy and protein synthesis signaling pathways. It can also regulate reactive oxygen species in organisms and has antioxidant effects. In tests in animal models, metformin was shown to prolong lifespan in worms and mice. In 2016, a clinical trial of anti-aging with metformin was conducted in the United States. Metformin is increasingly recognized as a promising protective agent due to its efficacy in alleviating various functional impairments, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and cognitive decline, and reducing deaths in older adults with diabetes.
Therefore, metformin is not only the core treatment drug for type 2 diabetes, it can prevent various complications caused by diabetes while lowering blood sugar, and also has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immune system, and cell proliferation and apoptosis effects. Indications will also expand into other disease areas (oncology, autoimmune diseases, PCOS, etc.). As an old drug with a long history, the safety of metformin has been confirmed, and the new use of the old drug will make the market prospect of metformin more broad.
https://www.arshinepharma.com/info/magic-drug-metformin-hydrochloride-76592700.html
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