Some health-obsessed Americans once thought they’d found a fountain of youth in a decades-old diabetes drug. Now, some are having second thoughts.
Metformin, which lowers blood-sugar levels in people with Type 2 diabetes, has been used as a diabetes medication in Europe since the 1950s and was FDA-approved in the U.S. in the 1990s. Researchers have been investigating it for another possible use—to fight aging—since at least the 1980s, after observing that some people taking metformin appeared to experience other benefits.
The medication gained traction as a potential longevity drug in certain health-enthusiast circles after a 2014 study found that people with Type 2 diabetes taking metformin as their only treatment lived longer than those without diabetes.
However, the science behind its effectiveness as a longevity improver in healthy people is mixed, and some recent studies have been discouraging, giving some advocates pause.
…
A study published last year that attempted to replicate the 2014 study linking metformin with longer lives found the drug wasn’t associated with a lifespan equal to or better than that of the general population. Other studies of people with diabetes and in animals have shown conflicting results on metformin’s potential to increase longevity and delay age-related disease.
