The Impact of Metformin on Muscular Function

Sunday - September 17 2023, 15:06 UTC - 1 year ago

The University of Utah Health researchers have found that Metformin, a common drug that’s been used in diabetes treatment for more than half a century, is not only effective in treating metabolic issues, but it can also help reduce muscle atrophy and fibrosis, especially in the elderly. These findings could bring Metformin closer to FDA approval as an anti-ageing drug.

Diabetes might not be the first thing that comes to mind when considering muscle function. However, a widely used diabetes drug that controls blood sugar can also prevent muscle atrophy and muscular fibrosis—which can help the elderly bounce back faster from injury or illness. Researchers from the University of Utah Health have found that Metformin, a common drug that’s been used in diabetes treatment for more than half a century, has surprising applications on a cellular level .

It can target "zombie-like cells," called senescent cells, which impact muscle function. Senescent cells secrete factors associated with inflammation that may underlie fibrotic tissue, a hardening or scarring of tissues. Metformin also reduces muscle atrophy. Their findings were published in the journal Aging Cell."We’re interested in the clinical application of this research," says Micah Drummond, Ph .

D., senior author of the study and professor of physical therapy and athletic training at the College of Health. "For example, knee surgeries in the elderly are notoriously hard to recover from. If we give a Metformin-type agent during the recovery period, could we help the muscles get back to normal faster?"As adults age, they’re more likely to fall, be hospitalized, or develop chronic disease, and muscle disuse increases these risks .

The research team wanted to find a therapeutic solution that could properly target both disuse atrophy and muscle recovery. There’s an optimal level of senescent cells that are beneficial, no matter your age. In younger, healthier people, short-term senescence is required for a proper recovery from injury, and completely blocking the senescent effect impedes the body’s efforts to heal. Typically, a younger person can bounce back more easily after muscle disuse without the use of an intervention such as Metformin .

"In the case of aging, we know that there’s immune dysfunction," says Drummond. "As you get older, it becomes harder for your body to clear senescent cells and they accumulate. That’s one reason recovery is much slower for the elderly after periods of disuse." Metformin’s anti-senescent properties have been demonstrated through pre-clinical studies. To test the intervention in humans, the team recruited 20 healthy male and female older adults for a multi-week study .

They had participants undergo a muscle biopsy and MRI before the intervention, which involved five days of bed rest. One group of 10 received Metformin and the other 10 received placebo pills during a two-week run-in period, then each group continued the placebo or Metformin treatment during bed rest. After the bed rest, participants received another muscle biopsy and MRI, then ceased treatments .

All patients completed a seven-day re-ambulation period followed by a final muscle biopsy. "We saw two things in our study," Drummond says. "When participants took Metformin during a bed rest, they had less muscle atrophy. During the recovery period, their muscles also had less fibrosis or excessive collagen. That build-up can make it harder for the muscle to properly function."Tying these results to senescence, the research team e-measured three senescence markers in included blood samples .

They found that Metformin was associated with lower levels in those markers. It is clear that Metformin is not only essential in treating metabolic issues such as diabetes and obesity, but also helps in muscle functioning. Especially in the elderly who are more prone to injuries and falls, it will be beneficial to include Metformin in treatments for muscle recovery and fibrosis prevention. With these findings, Metformin has taken one step closer to becoming the first drug approved by the FDA as an anti-ageing supplement .