Editorial: Emerging horizons of metformin: exploring recent advances and addressing challenges in research and clinical utilization
Abstract
(Tanoli et al., 2025). Metformin is an FDA-approved medication for type 2 diabetes that is also being researched for other potential uses (Saengboonmee et al., 2021;Foretz et al., 2023). Metformin has been shown to have multiple beneficial effects on various noncommunicable diseases, particularly those related to metabolic dysregulation, such as obesity (Abbasi et al., 2022;2024a;Abbasi et al., 2024b), neurodegenerative diseases (Kruczkowska et al., 2025), and cancers (Saengboonmee et al., 2017;Panaampon et al., 2023). Metformin's mechanisms are not fully understood, but it is known to enhance insulin sensitivity, activate AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), inhibit mitochondrial respiratory complex I, and modulate gut microbiota. Additionally, it impacts lipid metabolism and inflammatory signaling, promotes autophagy, improves DNA repair, and reduces adipogenesis and adipokine secretion. Currently, metformin is a major focus of research beyond diabetes treatment, with many studies showing promising results already applied in clinical practice (Teede et al., 2023). This research topic compiles articles and reviews on the potential repurposing of metformin, aiming to deepen our understanding of its effects and benefits in various diseases. This research topic presents seven original articles, including a systematic review, meta-analysis, and a brief research report. The studies cover preclinical models to randomized controlled trials, featuring a review and a perspective on…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Metformin as an adjuvant in breast cancer treatment
- Metformin Lysosomal Targeting: A Novel Aspect to Be Investigated for Metformin Repurposing in Neurodegenerative Diseases?
- Aberrant HSF1 signaling activation underlies metformin amelioration of myocardial infarction in mice
- Metformin induces ZFP36 by mTORC1 inhibition in cervical cancer-derived cell lines
- Protein Interaction Network for Identifying Vascular Response of Metformin (Oral Antidiabetic)
- Preventing Long COVID With Metformin
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.