Metformin, a common medication used to treat type 2 diabetes, could hold promise for treating age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a serious eye condition that affects millions of older adults.
AMD is a leading cause of vision loss in people over 50 in the United States. Around 11 million Americans are currently affected by this condition, and that number is expected to double by 2050 as the population ages.
AMD damages the central part of vision, which is crucial for tasks like reading, driving, and recognizing faces. There are two types of AMD: dry and wet. Dry AMD is more common and progresses slowly, while wet AMD is less common but causes more severe vision problems.
Although treatments exist to slow the progression of wet AMD, there is no cure for dry AMD, especially in its advanced stages, and lost vision cannot be restored.
Because AMD is closely linked to aging, researchers have started exploring metformin for its potential to fight age-related diseases. Metformin has been used for decades to manage diabetes by regulating blood sugar levels.
However, studies show that it may have broader health benefits. People with diabetes who take metformin tend to experience lower rates of age-related conditions like heart disease and cognitive decline. This raised the question: Could metformin also help protect vision and prevent AMD?
Dr. Dimitra Skondra, an ophthalmology professor at the University of Chicago, has been investigating this possibility. Her research, which analyzed health insurance records, found that people taking metformin were less likely to develop AMD.
In a recent study, metformin appeared to reduce the risk of both wet and dry AMD. A follow-up study even suggested that metformin could prevent geographic atrophy (GA), the advanced form of dry AMD that causes significant vision loss.
Although researchers are not yet certain how metformin protects against AMD, they believe it could reduce inflammation and improve the health of cells in the retina. There is also evidence that metformin positively influences the gut microbiome, which might play a role in preventing AMD.
If these findings are confirmed in future clinical trials, metformin could become a safe, affordable, and noninvasive treatment option for AMD. This could be a game-changer for millions of older adults, helping them maintain their vision and quality of life as they age.
Dr. Skondra is optimistic about the potential impact of metformin. While more research is needed, her studies suggest that this well-known diabetes drug could offer new hope for preventing and treating a condition that currently has limited options, particularly for dry AMD.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about Vitamin D and type 2 diabetes, and to people with diabetes, some fruits are better than others.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies that low calorie diets may help reverse diabetes, and 5 vitamins that may prevent complication in diabetes.
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