How Effective Is Metformin for Supporting Healthy Aging?
Why a diabetes drug contributes to the discussion about precision medicine
Adolfo Felix
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Metformin has been one of the central drugs in the treatment of type 2 diabetes for more than six decades. It is considered inexpensive, well-researched and has a broad safety profile. It is precisely these properties that have led to metformin becoming the focus of aging research.
The trigger was an observation that surprised many researchers: In large data sets, people with diabetes who took metformin often had a lower mortality rate than people of the same age without diabetes. This evidence led to the hypothesis that metformin may biological processes of aging influences — such as inflammation, metabolic pathways or cellular repair mechanisms.
Term explained — Biological aging processes
This refers to the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the development of age-associated diseases over time — such as chronic inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, or epigenetic changes.
The TAME study: Can aging be treated as a disease?
With the clinical trial TAME (Targeting Aging with Metformin) is being investigated for the first time whether a drug can influence not only individual diseases but the incidence of several age-related diseases simultaneously.
More than 3,000 participants aged 65—79, spread across several US research centers, are to take part. Over six years, it will be observed how cardiovascular diseases, cancer, dementia and other typical diseases of old age develop.
If TAME is successful, it would confirm a new concept: Ageing itself would be a treatable, modifiable biological system.
TAME is fully designed but not yet officially launched; the start still depends on final financing.
New data shows that not everyone responds to metformin the same way
However, recent research — including from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, the University of Oregon and Rutgers University — shows that the effects of metformin could depend heavily on the genetic background.
The findings come from experiments with various types of model organisms C. elegans, which have greater genetic diversity than mice or humans. The effects ranged from significantly extended life up to neutral or even negative effects.
The central finding:
Metformin can be beneficial to health — but it doesn't have to. The response depends on genetic variants.
This brings to the foreground a principle that is increasingly decisive for Longevity research.
Precision medicine: a necessary step
The study authors stress that there is a clear consequence of these results: Anti-aging interventions need to be more personalized.
What is meant is the adjustment of therapies to genetic, biological and metabolic differences. This precision medicine is only just beginning, but will be essential for future longevity approaches.
Ideally, before starting therapy, it would be possible to check who could benefit from metformin — and who could not. This is exactly what a complementary research approach should make possible.
TAME BIO: Biomarkers for individualized assessment
In addition, recent biomarker studies show that metformin could slow down epigenetic aging markers in certain groups of people. However, these findings are preliminary and do not replace clinical endpoints such as the actual occurrence of heart, cancer, or neurodegenerative diseases.
The National Institute on Aging is currently testing TAME BIO, a project that aims to evaluate biological samples from TAME participants (blood, plasma, urine, stool, RNA, DNA).
The aim is to use biomarkers to understand
- How strong metformin actually works
- Who benefits
- and which factors explain different reactions.
Term explained — Biomarkers
Measurable biological characteristics that indicate changes in the organism — such as inflammatory markers, epigenetic patterns, or metabolic profiles.
This data could help future anti-aging therapies more targeted and safer to apply.
What does this mean for metformin as an anti-aging agent?
Observational data and individual epigenetic analyses provide clues to potential benefits — but these apply primarily to people with metabolic stress and do not replace the results of a controlled study. The new evidence does not provide the all-clear, but it does provide an important clarification:
- Metformin is Not a universal anti-aging drug.
- The effects are heterogeneous, depending on genetics and individual factors.
- Without precision medicine, the benefits can be achieved for individuals Do not reliably predict.
- TAME and TAME BIO could show for the first time how aging can be addressed clinically — and where personalized approaches are needed.
Ageing research sees this as a turning point: The focus is not on individual measures, but on the question Which intervention works for which people.
Overall, metformin is still considered promising, but not as a universal anti-aging drug. Research is increasingly emphasizing the importance of individual factors — from genetics to metabolism — and expects that potential applications will have to take place in the context of personalized medicine in the future.
References
- Onken, B., Sedore, C.A., Coleman‐Hulbert, A.L., Hall, D., Johnson, E., Jones, E.G., Banse, S.A., Huynh, P., Guo, S., Xue, J., Chen, E., Harinath, G., Foulger, A., Chao, E.A., Hope, J., Bhaumik, D., Plummer, T., Inman, D., Morshead, M.,. Driscoll, M. (2021). Metformin treatment of various Caenorhabditis Species reveals theimportance of genetic background in longevity and healthspan extension outcomes. Aging Cell, 21(1)
- TAME BIO Biomarkers Study. (n.d.). American Federation for Aging Research. https://www.afar.org/tame-biomarkers-study
- TAME - Targeting Aging with Metformin. (n.d.). American Federation for Aging Research. https://www.afar.org/tame-trial
Publiziert
16.12.2025
Kategorie
Longevity
Experte
Metformin has been one of the central drugs in the treatment of type 2 diabetes for more than six decades. It is considered inexpensive, well-researched and has a broad safety profile. It is precisely these properties that have led to metformin becoming the focus of aging research.
The trigger was an observation that surprised many researchers: In large data sets, people with diabetes who took metformin often had a lower mortality rate than people of the same age without diabetes. This evidence led to the hypothesis that metformin may biological processes of aging influences — such as inflammation, metabolic pathways or cellular repair mechanisms.
Term explained — Biological aging processes
This refers to the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the development of age-associated diseases over time — such as chronic inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, or epigenetic changes.
The TAME study: Can aging be treated as a disease?
With the clinical trial TAME (Targeting Aging with Metformin) is being investigated for the first time whether a drug can influence not only individual diseases but the incidence of several age-related diseases simultaneously.
More than 3,000 participants aged 65—79, spread across several US research centers, are to take part. Over six years, it will be observed how cardiovascular diseases, cancer, dementia and other typical diseases of old age develop.
If TAME is successful, it would confirm a new concept: Ageing itself would be a treatable, modifiable biological system.
TAME is fully designed but not yet officially launched; the start still depends on final financing.
New data shows that not everyone responds to metformin the same way
However, recent research — including from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, the University of Oregon and Rutgers University — shows that the effects of metformin could depend heavily on the genetic background.
The findings come from experiments with various types of model organisms C. elegans, which have greater genetic diversity than mice or humans. The effects ranged from significantly extended life up to neutral or even negative effects.
The central finding:
Metformin can be beneficial to health — but it doesn't have to. The response depends on genetic variants.
This brings to the foreground a principle that is increasingly decisive for Longevity research.
Precision medicine: a necessary step
The study authors stress that there is a clear consequence of these results: Anti-aging interventions need to be more personalized.
What is meant is the adjustment of therapies to genetic, biological and metabolic differences. This precision medicine is only just beginning, but will be essential for future longevity approaches.
Ideally, before starting therapy, it would be possible to check who could benefit from metformin — and who could not. This is exactly what a complementary research approach should make possible.
TAME BIO: Biomarkers for individualized assessment
In addition, recent biomarker studies show that metformin could slow down epigenetic aging markers in certain groups of people. However, these findings are preliminary and do not replace clinical endpoints such as the actual occurrence of heart, cancer, or neurodegenerative diseases.
The National Institute on Aging is currently testing TAME BIO, a project that aims to evaluate biological samples from TAME participants (blood, plasma, urine, stool, RNA, DNA).
The aim is to use biomarkers to understand
- How strong metformin actually works
- Who benefits
- and which factors explain different reactions.
Term explained — Biomarkers
Measurable biological characteristics that indicate changes in the organism — such as inflammatory markers, epigenetic patterns, or metabolic profiles.
This data could help future anti-aging therapies more targeted and safer to apply.
What does this mean for metformin as an anti-aging agent?
Observational data and individual epigenetic analyses provide clues to potential benefits — but these apply primarily to people with metabolic stress and do not replace the results of a controlled study. The new evidence does not provide the all-clear, but it does provide an important clarification:
- Metformin is Not a universal anti-aging drug.
- The effects are heterogeneous, depending on genetics and individual factors.
- Without precision medicine, the benefits can be achieved for individuals Do not reliably predict.
- TAME and TAME BIO could show for the first time how aging can be addressed clinically — and where personalized approaches are needed.
Ageing research sees this as a turning point: The focus is not on individual measures, but on the question Which intervention works for which people.
Overall, metformin is still considered promising, but not as a universal anti-aging drug. Research is increasingly emphasizing the importance of individual factors — from genetics to metabolism — and expects that potential applications will have to take place in the context of personalized medicine in the future.
Referenzen
- Onken, B., Sedore, C.A., Coleman‐Hulbert, A.L., Hall, D., Johnson, E., Jones, E.G., Banse, S.A., Huynh, P., Guo, S., Xue, J., Chen, E., Harinath, G., Foulger, A., Chao, E.A., Hope, J., Bhaumik, D., Plummer, T., Inman, D., Morshead, M.,. Driscoll, M. (2021). Metformin treatment of various Caenorhabditis Species reveals theimportance of genetic background in longevity and healthspan extension outcomes. Aging Cell, 21(1)
- TAME BIO Biomarkers Study. (n.d.). American Federation for Aging Research. https://www.afar.org/tame-biomarkers-study
- TAME - Targeting Aging with Metformin. (n.d.). American Federation for Aging Research. https://www.afar.org/tame-trial
Publiziert
16.12.2025
Kategorie
Longevity
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