Alzheimer's disease (AD) constitutes a major public-health issue of our time. Regrettably, despite our considerable understanding of the pathophysiological aspects of this disease, current interventions lead to poor outcomes. Furthermore, experimentally promising compounds have continuously failed when translated to clinical trials. Along with increased population ageing, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) has become an extremely common condition, mainly due to unbalanced dietary habits. Substantial epidemiological evidence correlates T2DM with cognitive impairment as well. Considering that brain insulin resistance, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and amyloidogenesis are common phenomena, further approaching the common features among these pathological conditions. Metformin constitutes the first-choice drug to preclude insulin resistance in T2DM clinical management. Experimental evidence suggests that its functions might include neuroprotective effects, in addition to its hypoglycemic activity. This review aims to summarize and discuss current knowledge of experimental data on metformin on this path towards translational medicine. Finally, we discuss the controversial data of responses to metformin in vitro, and in vivo, animal models and human studies.
Keyphrases
- public health
- oxidative stress
- clinical trial
- glycemic control
- cognitive impairment
- electronic health record
- healthcare
- type diabetes
- big data
- metabolic syndrome
- randomized controlled trial
- emergency department
- dna damage
- polycystic ovary syndrome
- multiple sclerosis
- high fat diet
- ischemia reperfusion injury
- induced apoptosis
- open label
- cardiovascular risk factors
- decision making
- heat stress
- brain injury
- mild cognitive impairment
- heat shock
- pluripotent stem cells