Metformin Can Also Treat Liver Cirrhosis, Study Suggests

Common Diabetes Drug Can Also Treat Liver Cirrhosis, Study Suggests

The diabetes drug metformin continues to expand beyond its treatment for type 2 diabetes. In addition to its potential use in treating age-related health problems, metformin can treat portal hypertension—high blood pressure in the liver resulting from cirrhosis, according to a new study in American Journal of Physiology—Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology. The study found that metformin reduced blood pressure in the liver, liver scarring and inflammation after one week of use in cirrhotic rats. Combining metformin with propranolol, which is commonly used to treat portal hypertension, further lowered liver blood pressure. This drug combination may be a more effective therapy for portal hypertension and warrants further clinical evaluation, the researchers wrote.

The article “Metformin reduces hepatic resistance and portal pressure in cirrhotic rats” is published ahead-of-print in American Journal of Physiology—Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.

http://www.the-aps.org/mm/hp/Audiences/Public-Press/2015/33.html

More and more uses are being suggested for Metformin. I am inclined to believe Met could be a very useful drug beyond diabetes. If this was an expensive drug, I suspect big pharma would sell it for everything they could get away with, but Met is a very cheap drug and well proven to be safe over the years, unlike many type two medications. Let's hope some of the claims being made stand up over time.