pharmacology
Vida Hojati; Monireh Shafahi
Abstract
Metformin is a biguanide drug that reduces blood glucose levels by reducing glucose production in the liver, reducing intestinal absorption and increasing insulin sensitivity. Metformin has been used to treat type 2 diabetes since the late 1950s and remains the first drug of choice for this disease. ...
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Metformin is a biguanide drug that reduces blood glucose levels by reducing glucose production in the liver, reducing intestinal absorption and increasing insulin sensitivity. Metformin has been used to treat type 2 diabetes since the late 1950s and remains the first drug of choice for this disease. In recent years, it has been reported that metformin has favorable effects in other diseases as well. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to review the therapeutic effects of metformin in other diseases and types of cancer based on the latest research. The present review was collected using keywords from internal databases SID and Irandoc and external databases Web of Science, Scopus, Pubmed and Springer. A total of 100 researches between 2010 and 2024 were selected and reviewed with an emphasis on the latest sources. Metformin is considered as the first line of treatment in obese patients who do not have problems such as kidney or liver failure. It has also shown favorable effects on ovarian diseases (such as pycystic ovary syndrome and menstrual irregularity), cognitive, inflammatory, heart, kidney, liver and cancer diseases. Metformin prevents the progression of various diseases such as tumors, autoimmune and hormone-related diseases by regulating multiple signaling pathways such as JAK/STAT3 and mTOR/STAT3 centered on STAT3. Metformin has important neuroprotective effects such as preventing memory loss, stroke, anxiety, inflammation and seizures. It also has antioxidant effects and is useful in preventing aging. Due to the few side effects and of course more clinical research, metformin can probably be used in the prevention or treatment of some diseases in addition to diabetes.
