Diabetes Treatment Slows Aging? – Comedy.com
- A new animal study has shown that metformin, a relatively inexpensive diabetes treatment, slows down the aging process in male monkeys, particularly its effects on the brain.
- Monkeys given daily metformin showed slower age-related declines in brain function than those who did not.
- Metformin has been used for more than 60 years to lower blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.
In animal experiments, it was confirmed that cognitive ability was preserved and that the decline of the liver, lungs, kidneys, skin, and frontal lobe was delayed.
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Metformin has been used for more than 60 years to lower blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. [사진=게티이미지뱅크]
A new animal study has shown that metformin, a relatively inexpensive diabetes treatment, slows down the aging process in male monkeys, particularly its effects on the brain. This was reported by the scientific journal Nature based on a paper by Chinese researchers published in Cell on the 12th (local time).
Monkeys given daily metformin showed slower age-related declines in brain function than those who did not. In addition, their neural activity was similar to that of monkeys about 6 years younger (equivalent to about 18 years in humans), and their cognitive abilities were improved and liver function was preserved.
Metformin has been used for more than 60 years to lower blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. It is also the second most prescribed medication in the United States. In addition to treating diabetes, research is accumulating that the drug is effective in preventing cancer, cardiovascular disease, aging, and dementia.
Data from worms, flies, rodents, flies, and people who took the drug as a diabetes treatment suggest that metformin may have anti-aging effects. However, it was unclear whether the anti-aging effects were achieved by lowering blood sugar or through a separate mechanism.
Professor Liu Guanghui (stem cell) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and colleagues tested the drug in 12 older male long-tailed monkeys (Macaca fasciucularis), 16 other older monkeys, and 18 young or middle-aged controls. The monkeys received a standard dose of metformin used to manage diabetes in humans every day for 40 months (equivalent to about 13 years in humans).
During that time, the researchers collected samples from 79 different tissues and organs of the monkeys, imaged their brains, and performed routine physical exams. Based on this, they created a computational model that analyzed the cellular activity in the samples to determine the tissue’s “biological age,” which can be several years earlier or later than the actual age.
The researchers observed that metformin slowed the biological aging of many tissues, including the lungs, kidneys, liver, skin, and the frontal lobe of the brain. They also found that it suppressed chronic inflammation, a key feature of aging. The study did not focus on extending the lifespan of monkeys, but previous studies have shown that it did not affect lifespan, but did increase “healthspan” (the number of years a person lives in good health).
This means that metformin can “effectively reverse” the monkeys’ longevity, Liu said. The researchers also identified a potential pathway by which metformin protects the brain: by activating a protein called NRF2, which protects cells from injury and inflammation.
Dr. Alex Soukas, a molecular geneticist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), who reviewed the paper, said it was “the most quantitative and thorough examination of metformin’s action beyond mice,” and “we were struck by how comprehensive the effects were across tissue types.” However, the small number of monkeys studied and the study was limited to males are limitations. Rafael de Cabo, a researcher at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), said it is also important to understand female aging.
The researchers, in partnership with Merck, the German biopharmaceutical company that developed and manufactures metformin, have launched a 120-person clinical trial to test whether metformin can slow aging in humans. Separately, a team led by Nir Barzilai, a geneticist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Boston, is raising $50 million to study the drug in 3,000 people ages 65 to 79 over a six-year period. Barzilai says the study of metformin and other potential anti-aging agents could one day allow doctors to focus less on treating diseases and more on keeping people healthy for as long as possible.
The paper can be found at the following link (
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