(Note this study didn't include patients with prostate cancer. I post it to provide an alternative to postings here that discourage use of Metformin by prostate cancer patients. Metformin strengthens your immune system, reduces inflammation, moderates glucose levels, and provides resistance against cardiovascular events. Dr. Snuffy Myers whose practice was limited to prostate cancer, and who commonly prescribed Metformin to his patients noted more of his patients died of cardiovascular events than of PC. The plain matter is that its a low risk high reward option.)
The subjects were separated into three groups — 101 were volunteers without diabetes, 48 were people with type 2 diabetes who were not taking metformin, and 93 were people with diabetes who had been taking daily doses of 1700 milligrams of metformin for at least a year.
The researchers determined that mitochondrial function improved in the participants using metformin compared to those not using it. Specifically, they found that people with diabetes not treated with metformin displayed more reactive oxygen species than the treated subjects.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are unstable molecules, or free radicals, that react with other molecules in a cell. An excess of ROS can cause cell damage and even cell death.
The study also reported that the metformin-treated patients showed “significantly lower” levels of two cytokines known as TNF-α and IL-6, which are both substances that promote the inflammation that appears to promote diabetes.
Finally, the researchers theorized that “metformin diminishes leukocyte activation,” which is beneficial because the release of TNF-α from leukocytes “may inhibit inulin signaling and impair glucose uptake.”
The findings of the new study might have implications beyond diabetes because mitochondrial dysfunction might also contribute to other conditions — most notably arteriosclerosis, which is commonly known as “hardening of the arteries.”
According to study co-author Aranzazu Martínez de Marañón, PhD, “the message we want to spread with this article is that metformin, while far from being an exclusive treatment to regulate blood glucose levels, has several benefits on a cellular level.
Specifically, it improves the state of mitochondria and the function of immune cells. This decreases the initial stages of the atherosclerotic process, a common complication in patients with Type-2 diabetes.”
As Víctor M. Víctor, another of the researchers, put it, “Our findings have significant clinical implications, as they back the idea that metformin plays a key role in modulating the inflammation that takes place in patients with Type 2 diabetes.
Meanwhile, the study highlights the beneficial effects of this drug, which prevents mitochondrial dysfunction and deregulation … In this study we have shown that Type 2 diabetes is linked to mitochondrial dysfunction, and that metformin can modulate said effect.”
Metformin Can Help Mitochondrial Function - DSM
