Whatever happened to metformin for PD?

[drumhead]

It seemed as though researchers had identified metformin as a potential disease modifying drug for PD a few years back but I haven't heard anything about it recently. Anyone know what happened? Did further research not support its use? Is it too cheap so big pharma doesn't want to research further?

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articl...

[Boscoejean]

"Long-term use of metformin reduces BDNF transcription and inhibits nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), which may increase the vulnerability of the central nervous system. Some studies have also suggested that metformin increases the risk of PD or even aggravates neuronal damage."

journals.lww.com/jbioxresea....

link.springer.com/article/1....

"Metformin may have a beneficial effect on PD neuropathology. The neuroprotective effect of metformin is mainly mediated by activating adenosine monophosphate protein kinase (AMPK), which reduces mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and α-synuclein aggregation. As well, metformin mitigates brain IR a hallmark of PD and other neurodegenerative diseases. However, metformin may harm PD neuropathology by inducing hyperhomocysteinemia and deficiency of folate and B12. Therefore, this review aimed to find the potential role of metformin regarding its protective and detrimental effects on the pathogenesis of PD. "

[JayPwP in reply to Boscoejean]

😀😀😀😀

So research supporting both sides?

[MarionP in reply to JayPwP]

That's actually what you want to see in science, evidence-based result without regard into anything but their actual results. It seems almost entirely unheard of these days to see results that do not support the prospects of a company's product, primarily because it is very much in the opposite direction of their hopes and investments and business plans. It's a hidden but well-known scandal among scientists and researchers, if you want to have a career you have to post "positive" direction results or you stop being employed and published. If you work for a company producing a product, releasing any negative results that you obtained is a fast track to the unemployment line and everybody from investors to marketers to potential customers and business clients become as extinct as the dodo bird and carrier pigeon. You do not pass Go. You become Wally Pipp.

[AkunaMatata]

Metformin use is associated with a higher risk of PD in most longitudinal studies.