Metformin news

Not really news but good succinct info for background...

Question: Can Metformin lower vitamin b12 levels?
http://www.allaboutdiabetes.net/can-metformin-lower-vitamin-b12-levels/
Answer: "yes, long-term therapy with metformin can impair absorption of vitamin B12. Some studies suggest that 10 to 30% of people taking metformin have reduced vitamin B12 absorption. One recent randomized placebo-controlled trial was done in people with type 2 diabetes treated with metformin for over 4 years. The metformin-takers had 19% lower vitamin B12 levels and 7.2% higher risk of vitamin B12 deficiency compared to placebo."

It does not offer much in absolute terms as usual but I do recall nursey asking me to remind her in five years time to get mine tested... my my did we laugh.

Anyone been tested and what was the upshot? Seems to me the problem is you can take as much B12 as you like but if the aborption mechanism is impaired you are wasting your time. Met is not quite the perfect medicament but it comes closer than most perhaps. 8)

Re: Can Metformin lower vitamin b12 levels?

another interesting one here
http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/05/metformin-review-at-fightaging.html
Starting to remind me of statins, the wonder drug... snake oil anyone?

AFAICT met has only had the usual effects on me... not noticed anything like feeling unwell when on them, must have eaten over a thousand of them by now... I still prefer to think they are doing me good tho a part of me wants to try to do without them and subsist by diet and exercise... do I have the nerve to try it? Nah...

All drugs have side-fx it is all a matter of degree and the individual. If they bug you then ask for an alternative, this will bring its own side-fx of course. Find what best suits you methinks.

Eventually met will not be enough and so maybe for some B12 is academic. 8)

Re: Can Metformin lower vitamin b12 levels?

http://ccforum.com/content/16/3/R75/abstract
A team has been looking into Metformin overdose
... but not lactic acidosis per se, they saw that it inhibits oxygen consumption in pigs.

This is a paper so full of technical stuff and numbers but maybe somebody might make sense of it if it is worthwhile.

"Hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of metformin-induced lactic acidosis. However, patients with severe metformin intoxication may have a 30-60% decrease in their global oxygen consumption, as for generalized inhibition of mitochondrial respiration. We developed a pig model of severe metformin intoxication to validate this clinical finding and assess mitochondrial function in liver and other tissues."

I suppose that just as missing your dose is problematic so is having too many daily, though why you might I dunno... they used a "large dose of metformin, 4-8g" which is dubious for a human I would think...

Re: Can Metformin lower vitamin b12 levels?

http://asweetlife.org/a-sweet-life-...es-and-cancer-can-metformin-treat-both/27255/
A few years ago it was noted that diabetics had an increased cancer mortality compared with non-diabetics, as mentioned above, but that diabetics on metformin had a substantially (40%) reduced cancer burden compared with diabetics on other treatment. Since then, several population-based studies have suggested that metformin reduces cancer incidence and/or mortality among type 2 diabetic patients treated with metformin.

Re: Can Metformin lower vitamin b12 levels?

Hi Viv
My choice of words... I am fairly sure met lingers in the system so missing just one is no big deal, maybe depending on your food intake? Doubt I have ever "forgotten" to take one... tho I don't like taking them for several reasons.
These slower release ones are quite big!
It is just the niggle that they don't do very much. The curious part of my mind would have me return to my old ways and meals relying just on the met. I have heard that this is sometimes the mindset. People think they can carry on provided they take the met. Not for me of course.

Re: Can Metformin lower vitamin b12 levels?

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/am...n-family-by-listening-to-customers-2012-05-16
Problem solved... as if... but this is the result of feedback. I just swallow them...
Could have just sugar-coated them my wag of a wife has just said... 8)
Amneal has added blackberry flavoring to its Metformin HCl Immediate Release (IR) tablets in 500, 850 and 1000 mg strengths. The formulation change to add the new flavor, which imparts a pleasant taste and aroma, mitigates the smell of non-flavored Metformin and was implemented after evaluating candid customer feedback regarding the inherent smell of the API (active pharmaceutical ingredient). Amneal's generic is a therapeutically equivalent alternative to Glucophage(R) (a registered trademark of Merck Sante S.A.S.), indicated for treatment of diabetes.

Further.....
"The Metformin IR flavor change and Metformin ER label change are just the latest examples of Amneal's commitment to continuous improvement and generating ever-greater customer value," said Chirag Patel, Amneal's president.

Well really... who is daydreaming now? 8)

Re: Can Metformin lower vitamin b12 levels?

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/maga...-of-pregnancy-with-an-erratic-cycle-_11463971
Maybe not something to read while having brekkie but this is an interesting factoid to add to the met dossier - well, something I dint know about this drug.
"Metformin is a drug commonly used in polycystic ovarian disease to control the condition and this helps to restore regular menstruation and reduces the risk of diabetes mellitus in addition to stabilising the weight if obesity is a problem."

http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/...-type-2-kids-is-metformin-and-rosiglitazone/
Some weird stuff here - the therapy is sex-specific and can incur weight gain for some...

"The researchers reported that the rate of treatment failure, wherein patients did not achieve the 8% A1C goal, favored the combination therapy group.
• 38.6 percent of patients in the metformin and rosiglitazone combination therapy group failed to achieve the A1C goal
• 46.6 percent of patients in the metformin plus lifestyle intervention group failed to achieve the A1C goal
• 51.7 percent of patients in the group taking metformin alone failed to achieve the A1C goal"

IMHO not encouraging results... plus I presume it is two separate pills to remember to take and they allude to the cardiac risks with avandia. And the target of 8% seems modest. Another case of filing in another piece of the jigsaw but a bit depressing. 8)

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/104894-...y-giving-new-insight-into-diabetes-treatment/
Often wondered how met works then here is some light-shedding... well, it does not say much except this...

"The Dundee group has discovered that important responses to metformin depend on the drug’s metal-binding properties. Drugs like metformin have been known to bind to copper since the 19th century, but the role of this in the anti-diabetic effects of the drug was unknown until now."

IMHO Tis astounding that there is no clearly identified mechanism attributable to met... and now they are widening its application to treat other diseases... so all the more incentive to get a better understanding of it. 8)

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/104894-...y-giving-new-insight-into-diabetes-treatment/
Often wondered how met works then here is some light-shedding... well, it does not say much except this...

"The Dundee group has discovered that important responses to metformin depend on the drug’s metal-binding properties. Drugs like metformin have been known to bind to copper since the 19th century, but the role of this in the anti-diabetic effects of the drug was unknown until now."

IMHO Tis astounding that there is no clearly identified mechanism attributable to met... and now they are widening its application to treat other diseases... so all the more incentive to get a better understanding of it. 8)