Type 2 diabetics taking metformin were LESS likely to die during a 2.8-year follow-up than non-diabetic controls leading the authors of the study to suggest that metformin might have a life-extending effect even in non-diabetics.

“Patients with type 2 diabetes initiated with metformin monotherapy had longer survival than did matched, non-diabetic controls,” the authors of the paper noted.

“This supports the position of metformin as first-line therapy and implies that metformin may confer benefit in non-diabetes.”

To say this another way, the authors of the study are suggesting that metformin might be life-extending drug in people WITHOUT diabetes.

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The diabetes drug metformin (Glucophage) reduced the risk of death by 36% over 10.7 years in Type 2 diabetics according to a 1998 study.

Metformin ALONE was the ONLY diabetes drug to reduce the risk of death.

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Adding the diabetes drug metformin (Glucophage) to Type 2 diabetics who were already taking a sulphonylurea DOUBLED the risk of diabetes-related death -- a 96% increase -- over 10.7 years compared with continued sulphonylurea alone according to a 1998 study.

Metformin alone was the only diabetes drug to reduce the risk of death.

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"The Diabetes Prevention Program showed that lifestyle intervention reduced the risk for diabetes to a greater extent than the anti-diabetic drug metformin (58% vs. 31%) (Knowler WC et al, 2002)," according to a report titled Australia's future fat bomb that was written by researchers at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia.

The lifestyle-modification program had a goal of losing at least a 7 percent of body weight and at engaging in at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week, while the dose of metformin was 850 mg twice a day.

Note: The report mistakenly stated that metformin only reduced the risk by 13%, but the number should have been 31%. Read the entire article | Email this article

Metformin prevented additional weight gain in children who had gained 10 percent or more in less than a year while taking the antipsychotic drugs Zyprexa (olanzapine), Risperdal (risperidone) or Seroquel (quetiapine) according to a study from researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Those given a placebo gained an average of 9 pounds, while those given metformin did not gain an additional weight. Read the entire article | Email this article

Overweight patients given 20 mg of Prozac (fluoxetine) per day plus 500 mg of the anti-diabetes drug metformin (Glucophage) given three times per day lost an average of 17.4 pounds after six-and-a-half months compared to 1.1 pounds for those not taking the medication according to a new study from Iran. Read the entire article | Email this article

Type 2 diabetics taking metformin (Glucophage) and Topamax (topiramate) lost 4.5 to 6.5 percent of their body weight after one year compared to 1.7 percent for those taking only metformin (Glucophage) according to a large study from the Medical University in Graz, Austria. Read the entire article | Email this article

Glucophage (metformin) causes a small amount of weight loss on the order of a couple of pounds when given to patients with diabetes. However, it appears to considerably reduce the risk of diabetes related diseases and death compare to other diabetes treatments according to a new review. Read the entire article | Email this article

Approximately one-third (6 out of 19, or 32 percent) of obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who were infertile before treatment, became pregnant within six months of taking the anti-diabetes drug metformin (Glucophage) according to a study from Amman, Jordan. Read the entire article | Email this article

When considering only patients who lose at 5 percent of their body weight by the end of weight loss studies, diet and lifestyle changes cause an average weight loss of less than 11 pounds after 2-4 years; weight loss medications cause an average weight loss of 11 to 22 pounds after 1-2 years; and weight loss surgery causes an average weight loss of 55-165 pounds after 2-4 years according to a new review from researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. Read the entire article | Email this article

Obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) lost an average of 4.6 pounds more when given a 2250 mg of Glucophage (metformin) compared with 1500 mg per day according to a new study from Glasgow, Scotland. Read the entire article | Email this article

Being overweight increases the risk of type 2 diabetes more than any other disease. Xenical (orlistat) reduces the risk of diabetes over a two-to-four year period by 37 percent according to paper from Canada. Read the entire article | Email this article

Precose (acarbose) caused more weight loss than Glucophage (metformin) in type 2 diabetics according to a recent study. Read the entire article | Email this article

SOME STUDIES HAVE SHOWN that type II diabetics lose small amounts of weight using the drug metformin (Glucophage). However combining metformin with glyburide (Micronase) worked significantly better than either one alone according to a recent study. Read the entire article | Email this article