Metformin may also have health benefits for people who don't have diabetes. And it sometimes helps people with diabetes lose excess weight. It also offers them cardiovascular benefits, including lower rates of death due to cardiovascular disease. Metformin's benefits may extend far beyond diabetesįor decades we've known that metformin does more than just help lower blood sugar in people with diabetes. It has since become the most widely prescribed medication for people with diabetes who cannot control their blood sugar through diet and exercise alone. It wasn't until 1995 that the FDA approved it for use in the US. Metformin was rediscovered decades later and approved as a treatment for diabetes in Europe in the 1950s. But they fell out of favor due to serious side effects caused by phenformin, and by the discovery of insulin. Medicines containing guanidine, such as metformin and phenformin, were developed to treat diabetes. Then in 1918, a scientist discovered that one of its ingredients, guanidine, could lower blood sugar. In Europe, the medicinal herb Galega officinalis was popular for digestive health and to treat urinary problems and other ailments. The history of metformin goes back hundreds of years. If that's true, "wonder drug" might be an understatement. But in recent years, interest has grown regarding its potential to prevent or treat a variety of other conditions, including aging. Or, it might be because the drug is good for many different conditions: aspirin has often been called a wonder drug because it can relieve pain, treat or prevent cardiovascular disease, and even prevent cancer.Ĭould metformin be joining this list? It's approved in the US to treat type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise by people ages 10 and older. Sometimes it's because of the tremendous health benefits the drug provides for a particular condition, like insulin for type 1 diabetes or antibiotics for pneumonia. Ever wonder why certain medications are called "wonder drugs"?
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