Pilot Study on Evaluating the Geroprotective Effect of Metformin

Summary

The objective of this research is to assess the efficacy of oral metformin in mitigating the aging process in middle-aged and elderly males, to pinpoint sensitive indicators of human senescence, and to offer innovative frameworks and scientific insights for pharmaceutical interventions in aging.

Timeline

Start

2024-06-30

Primary completion

2026-09-30

Completion

2028-07-31

Publications

• Background Cabreiro F, Au C, Leung KY, Vergara-Irigaray N, Cocheme HM, Noori T, Weinkove D, Schuster E, Greene ND, Gems D. Metformin retards aging in C. elegans by altering microbial folate and methionine metabolism. Cell. 2013 Mar 28;153(1):228-39. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2013.02.035.
• Background Chai M, Jiang M, Vergnes L, Fu X, de Barros SC, Doan NB, Huang W, Chu J, Jiao J, Herschman H, Crooks GM, Reue K, Huang J. Stimulation of Hair Growth by Small Molecules that Activate Autophagy. Cell Rep. 2019 Jun 18;27(12):3413-3421.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.05.070.
• Background Foretz M, Guigas B, Bertrand L, Pollak M, Viollet B. Metformin: from mechanisms of action to therapies. Cell Metab. 2014 Dec 2;20(6):953-66. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2014.09.018. Epub 2014 Oct 30.
• Background Garber AJ, Duncan TG, Goodman AM, Mills DJ, Rohlf JL. Efficacy of metformin in type II diabetes: results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-response trial. Am J Med. 1997 Dec;103(6):491-7. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9343(97)00254-4.
• Background TODAY Study Group; Zeitler P, Hirst K, Pyle L, Linder B, Copeland K, Arslanian S, Cuttler L, Nathan DM, Tollefsen S, Wilfley D, Kaufman F. A clinical trial to maintain glycemic control in youth with type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2012 Jun 14;366(24):2247-56. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1109333. Epub 2012 Apr 29.
• Background Gronich N, Rennert G. Beyond aspirin-cancer prevention with statins, metformin and bisphosphonates. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2013 Nov;10(11):625-42. doi: 10.1038/nrclinonc.2013.169. Epub 2013 Oct 1.
• Background Kodali M, Attaluri S, Madhu LN, Shuai B, Upadhya R, Gonzalez JJ, Rao X, Shetty AK. Metformin treatment in late middle age improves cognitive function with alleviation of microglial activation and enhancement of autophagy in the hippocampus. Aging Cell. 2021 Feb;20(2):e13277. doi: 10.1111/acel.13277. Epub 2021 Jan 14.
• Background Kulkarni AS, Gubbi S, Barzilai N. Benefits of Metformin in Attenuating the Hallmarks of Aging. Cell Metab. 2020 Jul 7;32(1):15-30. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2020.04.001. Epub 2020 Apr 24.
• Background Li C, Mu N, Gu C, Liu M, Yang Z, Yin Y, Chen M, Wang Y, Han Y, Yu L, Ma H. Metformin mediates cardioprotection against aging-induced ischemic necroptosis. Aging Cell. 2020 Feb;19(2):e13096. doi: 10.1111/acel.13096. Epub 2020 Jan 14.
• Background Williams-Herman D, Johnson J, Teng R, Golm G, Kaufman KD, Goldstein BJ, Amatruda JM. Efficacy and safety of sitagliptin and metformin as initial combination therapy and as monotherapy over 2 years in patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2010 May;12(5):442-51. doi: 10.1111/j.1463-1326.2010.01204.x.
• Background Neumann B, Baror R, Zhao C, Segel M, Dietmann S, Rawji KS, Foerster S, McClain CR, Chalut K, van Wijngaarden P, Franklin RJM. Metformin Restores CNS Remyelination Capacity by Rejuvenating Aged Stem Cells. Cell Stem Cell. 2019 Oct 3;25(4):473-485.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2019.08.015.
• Background Martin-Montalvo A, Mercken EM, Mitchell SJ, Palacios HH, Mote PL, Scheibye-Knudsen M, Gomes AP, Ward TM, Minor RK, Blouin MJ, Schwab M, Pollak M, Zhang Y, Yu Y, Becker KG, Bohr VA, Ingram DK, Sinclair DA, Wolf NS, Spindler SR, Bernier M, de Cabo R. Metformin improves healthspan and lifespan in mice. Nat Commun. 2013;4:2192. doi: 10.1038/ncomms3192.
• Background Ma T, Tian X, Zhang B, Li M, Wang Y, Yang C, Wu J, Wei X, Qu Q, Yu Y, Long S, Feng JW, Li C, Zhang C, Xie C, Wu Y, Xu Z, Chen J, Yu Y, Huang X, He Y, Yao L, Zhang L, Zhu M, Wang W, Wang ZC, Zhang M, Bao Y, Jia W, Lin SY, Ye Z, Piao HL, Deng X, Zhang CS, Lin SC. Low-dose metformin targets the lysosomal AMPK pathway through PEN2. Nature. 2022 Mar;603(7899):159-165. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04431-8. Epub 2022 Feb 23.
• Background Lopez-Otin C, Blasco MA, Partridge L, Serrano M, Kroemer G. Hallmarks of aging: An expanding universe. Cell. 2023 Jan 19;186(2):243-278. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.11.001. Epub 2023 Jan 3.

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