Scientists to research if a cheap diabetes drug could extend your life

Scientists are looking to study further whether or not a cheap drug used in patients with diabetes may help those who take it live longer and healthier lives.

The drug in question is metformin, which helps lower blood sugar and treats Type 2 diabetes, but it may also carry the unintended benefit of protecting against cognitive decline, heart disease, and cancer, a report from NPR shared.

The medication has these potential benefits thanks to its anti-inflammatory effects. It also has the added bonus of costing less than a dollar under some insurance plans.

Now, through the TAME Trial , scientists are looking to see whether or not metformin can slow the aging process and prevent disease in adults considered healthy.

However, due to the nature of the trial, results are not expected for some time, as it will run for around six years.

In total, scientists are hoping to enroll around 3,000 people between the ages of 65 -79 in order to see what effect the medication has on their overall health and longevity.

Steven Austad, a senior scientific adviser at the American Federation for Aging Research who studies the biology of aging, shared with NPR that while nothing is yet certain, the current data is promising.

“I don’t know if metformin increases lifespan in people, but the evidence that exists suggests that it very well might,” Austad said.

A British study that examined the benefits of metformin found that it not only lowered a person’s risk of getting blood, urologic, and gastrointestinal cancers, but it also found that those who had been taking it for their Type 2 diabetes had lower rates of dementia and lower risk of dying from a cardiovascular issue.

Because of these results, Austad and other researchers have pushed for a clinical trial, as most of the aging benefits are still considered observational.

“A bunch of us went to the FDA to ask them to approve a trial for metformin. If you could help prevent multiple problems at the same time like we think metformin may do, then that’s almost the ultimate in preventative medicine,” Austad said.