Metformin, a decades-old generic drug for type 2 diabetes, may also help treat COVID-19, a new study suggests.
Scientists at the University of Minnesota randomly assigned more than 1,300 adults with COVID-19 to take metformin or a placebo pill. All of the participants took nasal swab tests for viral levels after 1, 5, and 10 days.
Among the key research results:
- On average, metformin reduced the amount of virus in the body almost 4 times more than the placebo pill.
- People taking metformin were 28 percent more likely to have undetectable levels of the virus in their body at either day 5 or day 10 of the study.
- Participants on metformin were 32 percent less likely to experience what’s known as rebound — when levels of the virus initially decrease but then become higher again.
“The results of the study are important because COVID-19 continues to cause illness, both during acute infection and for months after infection,” says lead study author Carolyn Bramante, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota.
How Metformin Might Fight COVID-19
The metformin study wasn’t designed to figure out why or how this diabetes treatment might tamp down the coronavirus. But the drug blocks activity of a protein known as mTOR, Dr. Bramante says. This protein plays a role in cell growth and reproduction and impacts immune responses.
“We hypothesized that metformin’s inhibition of mTOR may cause a reduction in SARS-CoV-2,” the specific type of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, Bramante says.
However, the possible benefits of metformin as a COVID-19 treatment aren’t yet clear, with previous studies yielding conflicting results.
Metformin May Make COVID-19 Less Contagious
“The shorter duration of viral shedding, the shorter the duration of potential contagiousness and transmission risk,” Dr. Siedner says.
Should You Start Taking Metformin for COVID-19?
“Based on the data we have now, I would not personally prescribe metformin for treatment of COVID-19, nor would I recommend its use,” Siedner says.
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