Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37737447›Full record

ReviewJournal of cellular and molecular medicine2023

New insights on the potential anti-epileptic effect of metformin: Mechanistic pathway.

Saud A Alnaaim, Hayder M Al-Kuraishy, Ali I Al-Gareeb, Naif H Ali, Athanasios Alexiou, Marios Papadakis, Hebatallah M Saad, Gaber El-Saber Batiha

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

Review in Journal of cellular and molecular medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
9.0field-weighted citation impact, top 2% 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

21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Review
  5. The potential role of COX-2/PGs signaling pathway in epileptogenesis and associated neuroinflammation: collusions or serendipity.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
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  18. The functional and molecular roles of p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75Journal of central nervous system disease · 2024
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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

8 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.

Saud A AlnaaimClinical Neurosciences Department, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia.
Hayder M Al-KuraishyDepartment of Clinical Pharmacology and Medicine, College of Medicine, ALmustansiriyia University, Baghdad, Iraq.
Ali I Al-GareebDepartment of Clinical Pharmacology and Medicine, College of Medicine, ALmustansiriyia University, Baghdad, Iraq.
Naif H AliDepartment of Internal Medicine, Medical College, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia.
Athanasios AlexiouDepartment of Science and Engineering, Novel Global Community Educational Foundation, Hebersham, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2206-7236
Marios PapadakisDepartment of Surgery II, University Hospital Witten-Herdecke, University of Witten-Herdecke, Wuppertal, Germany.
Hebatallah M SaadDepartment of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Matrouh University, Matrouh, Egypt.ORCID 0000-0001-9555-7300
Gaber El-Saber BatihaDepartment of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour University, Damanhour, Egypt.
Alsalam University College · IQDamanhour University · EGEgypt Nanotechnology Center · EGKing Faisal University · SANajran University · SAWitten/Herdecke University · DE

Funding

University of Witten-Herdecke Germany.
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease characterized by recurrent seizures. Epilepsy is observed as a well-controlled disease by anti-epileptic agents (AEAs) in about 69%. However, 30%-40% of epileptic patients fail to respond to conventional AEAs leading to an increase in the risk of brain structural injury and mortality. Therefore, adding some FDA-approved drugs that have an anti-seizure activity to the anti-epileptic regimen is logical. The anti-diabetic agent metformin has anti-seizure activity. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism of the anti-seizure activity of metformin was not entirely clarified. Henceforward, the objective of this review was to exemplify the mechanistic role of metformin in epilepsy. Metformin has anti-seizure activity by triggering adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signalling and inhibiting the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathways which are dysregulated in epilepsy. In addition, metformin improves the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which has a neuroprotective effect. Hence, metformin via induction of BDNF can reduce seizure progression and severity. Consequently, increasing neuronal progranulin by metformin may explain the anti-seizure mechanism of metformin. Also, metformin reduces α-synuclein and increases protein phosphatase 2A (PPA2) with modulation of neuroinflammation. In conclusion, metformin might be an adjuvant with AEAs in the management of refractory epilepsy. Preclinical and clinical studies are warranted in this regard.

Indexed as

EpilepsyMetforminAnticonvulsantsBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorHumansHypoglycemic AgentsAnticonvulsantsBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorHypoglycemic AgentsMetforminepilepsymetforminseizure

Identifiers

PMID37737447
PMCPMC10747420
OpenAlexW4386944171

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
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.