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Diabetes Drug Metformin Increases Lifespan

| August 9, 2014 Comment

Diabetes drug, metformin, increases lifespan of diabetes patients, according to researchers at Cardiff University, who studied 180,000 type 2 diabetes patients.

Metformin and sulphonylurea are two diabetes drugs that are prescribed as first-line therapy. Sulphonylurea is known to cause side-effects like weight-gain and hypoglycemia. Researchers compared type 2 diabetic patients who were on metformin to those who were on sulphonylurea, and then compared their survival rates to non- diabetics. They found that those on metformin had an increased survival rate when compared to non-diabetics. The survival rate among those on sulphonylurea was reduced when compared to non-diabetics.

Researchers say that metformin, which is an inexpensive drug, can also prevent development of  type 2 disease in those at risk, and may even help those with type 1 diabetes. Metformin has also been shown to help prevent cancer and heart disease. More….

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