4 ms·

I also see ads for Metformin as a "longevity" and "weight loss" drug. I worry for my mom and other diabetic members of my family potentially not being able to g

• RobotToaster 4y ago
  Metformin is generic, and much simpler to manufacture. These shortages mostly happened because of a patent monopoly.
• Alex3917 4y ago
  Metformin is suspected to act like a mitochondrial complex I inhibitor, at least under certain conditions. If so, there may be a risk of it causing progressive supranuclear palsy if taken in high doses or long term. If you have diabetes the risk is probably worth it, but if you’re already healthy then taking it for longevity reasons seems more dubious. It wouldn’t surprise me if in a couple decades some non-trivial percentage of the folks using it for longevity end up with PSP, which is a fatal and untraceable disease.
  • kurthr 4y ago
    It seems like Metformin has been used as treatment in some neurological diseases especially where diabetes is a known risk factor (eg Alzheimer's) . And while it has not been shown to be causal, it is correlated with development of palsy by meta-analysis of a large group of studies. https://drc.bmj.com/content/8/1/e001370 https://drc.bmj.com/content/8/1/e001370 https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/14/9/890 https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/14/9/890