Cells associated with blood vessel damage reduced in patients taking metformin
TUESDAY, Sept. 6, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Metformin may help preserve cardiovascular health in patients with type 1 diabetes, according to a study published online Aug. 26 in Cardiovascular Diabetology.
The new study included 23 adults with type 1 diabetes who were treated with metformin for eight weeks, 23 healthy age- and sex-matched volunteers without type 1 diabetes, and nine patients with type 1 diabetes who weren’t given metformin.
The researchers saw a number of markers indicating blood vessel repair improve in patients taking metformin. The team noted improvements in circulating endothelial progenitor cells, colony forming units-Hill’s colonies, circulating endothelial cells, and pro-angiogenic cell count and function, and deemed the effects independent of hypoglycemic effect.
“We have shown — both in test tube and in patients — the mechanism behind the cardioprotective effects of metformin,” senior author Jolanta Weaver, Ph.D., of Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, told HealthDay. “This is likely to lead to the development of new drugs for heart disease in diabetes.”
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