Update on Metformin Mechanisms of Action and Its Emerging Therapeutic Repositioning
Keywords:
Metformina, Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2, Farmacocinética, Uso Fuera de lo indicado, Acciones FarmacológicasAbstract
Introduction: Metformin has been the most widely used hypoglycemic agent in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus for the past 60 years worldwide. Surprisingly, the mechanisms underlying its therapeutic action are complex and still not fully understood. Based on the efficacy and safety records of the use of metformin in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, its use has been repositioned as part of the adjunctive therapy of different types of cancer, and age-related diseases such as inflammatory diseases, obesity, hyperinflammatory states, and infectious processes such as COVID-19.
Objectives: To describe the emerging therapeutic repositioning of metformin and its update on genetic and molecular mechanisms of action.
Methods: A literature review was conducted based on chronological and thematic criteria, both for scientific monographs and for articles published in medical journals indexed in online databases, in Spanish and English. For this purpose, the Google Scholar search engine was used with a combination of keywords.
Conclusions: Describing the update of the latest advances in the knowledge of the glucoregulatory action mechanisms of metformin has allowed us to identify new potential indications, which broadens the spectrum of therapeutic prescriptions and its emerging therapeutic repositioning.
Keywords: metformin; type 2 diabetes mellitus; pharmacokinetics; off-label use; pharmacological actions.
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