Evidence mapPaperPMID 16115299Full record

Trial reportJournal of internal medicine2005

Metformin improves endothelial function in patients with metabolic syndrome.

C Vitale, G Mercuro, A Cornoldi, M Fini, M Volterrani, G M C Rosano

Registry-linked trialAbstract readClinical TrialRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of internal medicine, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03355469 (Exercise Dose and Metformin for Vascular Health in Adults With Metabolic Syndrome), which is not on this map. Cited by 60 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
60citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.4field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03355469 phase2 / phase3completedstarted 2017, after this paper: background citation

Exercise Dose and Metformin for Vascular Health in Adults With Metabolic Syndrome

Ran2017Enrolled91Registered outcomes6Posted comparisons36ConditionsMetabolic SyndromeArmsHigh intensity exercise, Low intensity exercise, Metformin, Placebo
Open the trial in the graph
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

60 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 167 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Endothelial dysfunction in chronic kidney disease: a clinical perspective.American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology · 2025
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Repurposing Metformin for Vascular Disease.Current medicinal chemistry · 2023
    Review
  10. Review
  11. Metformin improves skeletal muscle microvascular insulin resistance in metabolic syndrome.American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism · 2022
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Metformin as a Potential Agent in the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020
    Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

C VitaleDepartment of Medical Sciences, Cardiovascular Research Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele, Roma, Tosinvest Sanita, Rome, Italy.
G Mercuro
A Cornoldi
M Fini
M Volterrani
G M C Rosano
Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico · ITIstituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico San RaffaeleUniversity of Cagliari · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMetabolic Syndrome (MS) is associated with impaired endothelial function and increased cardiovascular risk. Insulin resistance is a key feature of MS and plays an important role in the pathogenesis of endothelial dysfunction. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of metformin on endothelial function and insulin resistance, assessed by the homeostasis model (HOMA-IR, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance), in patients with MS.

methodsSixty-five subjects (37 men and 28 women, mean age 54 +/- 6 years) with MS were allocated to receive metformin 500 mg twice daily (n = 32) or placebo (n = 33) for 3 months. Before and after treatment we assessed endothelial function, using flow-mediated dilatation of the brachial artery, and HOMA-IR.

resultsPatients who received metformin demonstrated statistically significant improvement in endothelium-dependent vasodilation compared with those treated with placebo (from 7.4 +/- 2.1% to 12.4 +/- 1.9% vs. 7.3 +/- 2.5% to 6.9 +/- 2.7%, P = 0.0016, metformin vs. placebo respectively), without significant effect on endothelium-independent response to sublingual glyceryl trinitrate (P =0.32). Metformin improved insulin resistance compared with placebo group (HOMA-IR from 3.39 to 2.5 vs. 3.42 to 3.37; 26% reduction in HOMA-IR, P = 0.01). An association between the improvement in insulin resistance and the improvement in endothelial function (r = -0.58, P = 0.0016) was found.

conclusionMetformin improves both endothelial function and insulin resistance in patients with MS. These findings support the central role of insulin resistance in the development of endothelial dysfunction and the role of metformin for the treatment of patients with MS.

Indexed as

Brachial ArteryInsulin ResistanceEndothelium, VascularFemaleHomeostasisHumansHypoglycemic AgentsImage Processing, Computer-AssistedMaleMetabolic SyndromeMetforminMiddle AgedMultivariate AnalysisNitroglycerinUltrasonographyVasodilator AgentsHypoglycemic AgentsMetforminNitroglycerinVasodilator Agents

Identifiers

PMID16115299
OpenAlexW2099868021

What Socratic holds

Texttitle and abstract
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.