Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34421827›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in endocrinology2021

A Critical Review of the Evidence That Metformin Is a Putative Anti-Aging Drug That Enhances Healthspan and Extends Lifespan.

Ibrahim Mohammed, Morley D Hollenberg, Hong Ding, Chris R Triggle

Open access · goldFull text readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in endocrinology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 144 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
144citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
16.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% 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

144 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 253 citations in OpenAlex.

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84 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Ibrahim MohammedDepartment of Medical Education, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Al-Rayyan, Qatar.
Morley D HollenbergInflammation Research Network and Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Hong DingDepartment of Medical Education, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Al-Rayyan, Qatar.
Chris R TriggleDepartment of Medical Education, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Al-Rayyan, Qatar.
Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar · QAUniversity of Calgary · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The numerous beneficial health outcomes associated with the use of metformin to treat patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), together with data from pre-clinical studies in animals including the nematode, C. elegans, and mice have prompted investigations into whether metformin has therapeutic utility as an anti-aging drug that may also extend lifespan. Indeed, clinical trials, including the MILES (Metformin In Longevity Study) and TAME (Targeting Aging with Metformin), have been designed to assess the potential benefits of metformin as an anti-aging drug. Preliminary analysis of results from MILES indicate that metformin may induce anti-aging transcriptional changes; however it remains controversial as to whether metformin is protective in those subjects free of disease. Furthermore, despite clinical use for over 60 years as an anti-diabetic drug, the cellular mechanisms by which metformin exerts either its actions remain unclear. In this review, we have critically evaluated the literature that has investigated the effects of metformin on aging, healthspan and lifespan in humans as well as other species. In preparing this review, particular attention has been placed on the strength and reproducibility of data and quality of the study protocols with respect to the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of metformin. We conclude that despite data in support of anti-aging benefits, the evidence that metformin increases lifespan remains controversial. However,

Indexed as

AgingAnimalsCaenorhabditis elegansDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2HumansLongevityMetforminMiceOxidative StressMetforminagingAMP-Kinasecalorie restriction mimeticcancercardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseasesdiabeteshealthspan and lifespanmetformin

Identifiers

PMID34421827
PMCPMC8374068
OpenAlexW3187589847

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.