From Metformin to lifestyle to Control T2D: A Summarized Report on Risks of having Six Mortality Diseases Resulted from T2D and Five Common Inputs, BMI, WHR, eAG, Diet, and Exercise using Viscoplastic Energy Model of GH-Method: Math-Physical Medicine (No. 1051, VMT #489)

Abstract

Gerald C. Hsu

The author recently read an article, “Is Metformin a Drug for All Diseases?” by Marilynn Larkin on Medscape Medical News, published onFebruary 27, 2024.

“As a front-line treatment for type 2 diabetes, metformin is among the most widely prescribed drugs in the United States. Metformin’s recognition in 1918 for its ability to lower blood glucose, being cast aside because of toxicity fears in the 1930s, rediscovery and synthesis in Europe in the 1940s, the first reported use for diabetes in 1957, and approval in the United States in 1994. In 2021 alone, medical clinic doctors wrote more than 91 million orders for the medication. Emerging evidence suggests the drug may be effective for a much broader range of conditions beyond managing high blood glucose, including various cancers, obesity, liver disease, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and renal diseases.

Gregory G. Schwartz explained that "Experimental data have demonstrated attenuated development of atherosclerosis, reduced myocardial infarct size, improved endothelial function, and antiarrhythmic actions — none of those dependent on the presence of diabetes."

Sai Yendamuri, MD, said that “In our preclinical and retrospective clinical data, we found that metformin had anti-lung cancer effects but only if the patients were overweight. Research is underway in other tumor types, including oral and endometrial, and brain cancers.”

"Cognitive function — or at least delaying its erosion — represents another front for metformin. The hypothesis is that improving insulin and glucose levels can lead to lowering the risk of Alzheimer's disease," José A. Luchsinger MD said.”

The author of this article, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1995, was initially treated with three high-dose medications, including metformin. Over the 29 years following his diagnosis, he endured five cardiac incidents, renal issues, neuropathy, foot ulcers, and retinopathy, along with other minor yet bothersome complications, but did not experience stroke, dementia, or cancer. On December 8, 2015, he ceased all medications, choosing to strictly manage his condition through lifestyle changes. He has since lived medication-free, including metformin, for approximately 8.5 years.

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