Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28526884›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2017

Combined use of metformin and atorvastatin attenuates atherosclerosis in rabbits fed a high-cholesterol diet.

Fei Luo, Yuan Guo, Gui-Yun Ruan, Jun-Ke Long, Xi-Long Zheng, Qin Xia, Shui-Ping Zhao, Dao-Quan Peng, Zhen-Fei Fang, Xiang-Ping Li

Open access · goldFull text read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
5.0field-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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. The anti-inflammatory effect of metformin: The molecular targets.Genes to cells : devoted to molecular & cellular mechanisms · 2024
    Review
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
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  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Cinnamaldehyde exerts vasculoprotective effects in hypercholestrolemic rabbits.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2018
    Article
  20. Metformin: An Old Drug with New Applications.International journal of molecular sciences · 2018
    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

10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Fei LuoDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China.
Yuan GuoDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China.
Gui-Yun RuanDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China.
Jun-Ke LongDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China.
Xi-Long ZhengSmooth Muscle Research Group, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Qin XiaDepartment of Orthopedics, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China.
Shui-Ping ZhaoDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China.
Dao-Quan PengDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China.
Zhen-Fei FangDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China.
Xiang-Ping LiDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China. lixp0040@sina.com.
Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University · CNCentral South University · CNUniversity of Calgary · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Statins are widely used to reduce cardiovascular risk. Unfortunately, some patients still experience cardiovascular events though prescribed with high-intensity statins. Metformin, an anti-diabetic drug, was reported to possess anti-atherosclerotic effects. Therefore, the experiments were designed to evaluate whether combined use of metformin and atorvastatin can achieve additional benefits. In rabbits fed a high-cholesterol diet, we evaluated the effects of the combination therapy on atherosclerotic plaques, lipid profiles, blood glucose levels, liver and kidney functions. Effects of combination therapy on cholesterol efflux and the expression of related transporters were studied in vitro. Our results showed that the combination therapy induced a more significant decrease in atherosclerotic lesion area than atorvastatin without additional lipid-lowering effect. The combination therapy significantly increased the percentage of large high-density lipoprotein subfraction. The intravenous glucose tolerance test showed that atorvastatin-treated rabbits had an increased area under the curve for time-dependent glucose levels after a bolus injection of glucose, which was completely reversed by metformin treatment. In cultured macrophages, co-treatment with metformin and atorvastatin promoted cholesterol efflux and up-regulated expression of ATP-binding cassette transporters A1 and G1. Taken together, our results suggest that atorvastatin/metformin combination therapy may achieve additional anti-atherosclerotic benefits likely through increasing cholesterol efflux in macrophages.

Indexed as

AnimalsAtherosclerosisAtorvastatinBiomarkersBiopsyCholesterolDiet, High-FatDisease Models, AnimalGene ExpressionImmunohistochemistryLipid MetabolismMaleMetforminPlaque, AtheroscleroticRabbitsAtorvastatinBiomarkersCholesterolMetformin

Identifiers

PMID28526884
PMCPMC5438352
OpenAlexW2616652498

What Socratic holds

Textfull text, public
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.