Key points from article :
Researchers have documented a human clinical trial showing that metformin reduces atrophy caused by long periods of bed rest.
A total of 20 people (average age, 70) received metformin or placebo for two weeks and still given five days of bed rest.
More thick muscle fibers and fewer thin muscle fibers in the metformin group compared to the control group.
Accordingly, total muscle size was greater in the metformin group.
Capillaries & macrophages remain unaffected, and satellite cells were reduced with metformin.
Collagen deposition, which is increased by bed rest, was sharply affected by metformin; some have less collagen deposition.
Metformin group had significantly less senescence markers (p21 and p16) in fibro-adipogenic progenitor cells in muscle tissue.
Placebo group had increased senescence- and collagen-related transcriptions and transcriptional pathways than the metformin group.
It serves as strong evidence that metformin is effective against disuse-relate atrophy in older people.
However, this trial also showed that metformin doesn’t affect everything related to atrophy and muscle aging.
Study led by Micah Drummond from University of Utah, published in Aging Cell.
