Metformin May Also Lower LDL Cholesterol

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized.

safety-lane.com 07105
chiropractic-lane.com
NEWARK 
http://bit.ly/1DCt06V



Metformin May Also Lower LDL Cholesterol: Study Suggests How

Metformin, which has been used to lower blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes for more than 50 years, appears to also lower LDL-cholesterol levels, possibly by a complex mechanism, according to new research.


They found that patients who were taking metformin had lower levels of three metabolites and LDL cholesterol, senior author Dr Rui Wang-Sattler, from Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and the German Center for Diabetes Research, told Medscape Medical News.


In a study published online August 5 in Diabetes Care, Dr Tao Xu, from Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, in Neuherberg, Germany, and colleagues describe how they analyzed levels of 131 serum metabolites as well as genomic data in three large cohorts of participants with treated or untreated type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, or no diabetes.


It appears that “metformin intake activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and consequently suppresses fatty-acid desaturase (FADS) genes, which leads to reduced levels of lipid metabolites and LDL cholesterol,” she added.


This mechanism may partly explain how metformin may lower LDL-cholesterol levels in patients with type 2 diabetes and potentially lower their risk of cardiovascular events, she said.


The researchers now plan to continue this line of research to better understand how metformin works.


via Blogger http://bit.ly/1MoukwC