Metformin: A stroke of luck

Mohamad Aljofan; Abduzhappar Gaipov

doi:10.29333/ejgm/108679

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Mohamad Aljofan ¹ ^* , Abduzhappar Gaipov ²

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¹ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Nazarbayev University School of Medicine. Nur-Sultan city, Kazakhstan² Department of Clinical Sciences, Nazarbayev University School of Medicine. Nur-Sultan city, Kazakhstan^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Metformin is an oral glucose-lowering drug that has been widely used for more than half a century. Both the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the study of Diabetes recommend metformin as the first line therapy for the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus. Metformin has considerably evolved from being an antidiabetic into a drug with a wider potential of therapeutic uses such as anticancer, antiaging, treatment of gestational hypertension, preeclampsia and weight loss. In addition to the in-label use of metformin as an anti-hyperglycemic medication, it is widely prescribed as an off label therapy for young women with Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome for the treatment of symptoms associated with the disorder. This article is a brief summary that lists and briefly discusses current and potential non-hyperglycemic uses and effects of metformin.

Keywords

metformin
PCOS
cancer
cardiovascular
mechanism of action

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Review Article

ELECTRON J GEN MED, Volume 16, Issue 3, June 2019, Article No: em143

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/108679

Publication date: 16 May 2019

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Declaration of Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest is declared by author(s).

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Vancouver

Aljofan M, Gaipov A. Metformin: A stroke of luck. ELECTRON J GEN MED. 2019;16(3):em143. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/108679

APA

Aljofan, M., & Gaipov, A. (2019). Metformin: A stroke of luck. Electronic Journal of General Medicine, 16(3), em143. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/108679

AMA

Aljofan M, Gaipov A. Metformin: A stroke of luck. ELECTRON J GEN MED. 2019;16(3), em143. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/108679

Chicago

Aljofan, Mohamad, and Abduzhappar Gaipov. "Metformin: A stroke of luck". Electronic Journal of General Medicine 2019 16 no. 3 (2019): em143. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/108679

Harvard

Aljofan, M., and Gaipov, A. (2019). Metformin: A stroke of luck. Electronic Journal of General Medicine, 16(3), em143. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/108679

MLA

Aljofan, Mohamad et al. "Metformin: A stroke of luck". Electronic Journal of General Medicine, vol. 16, no. 3, 2019, em143. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/108679