Pharmacology of metformin - An update.

Despite being a successful diabetes type 2 drug for more than a half-century in Europe, the mode of action of metformin is still debated. It is the purpose of this review to inform the reader about most recent findings for metformin with respect to its antidiabetic activity as well as proposed benefits beyond glucose control in humans. Clinical evidence now suggests that most of metformin benefits originate from its actions in the gut, involving hormone signaling by glucagon-like peptide 1 and peptide YY.

Metformin and Aging: A Review.

Metformin is sometimes proposed to be an "anti-aging" drug, based on preclinical experiments with lower-order organisms and numerous retrospective data on beneficial health outcomes for type 2 diabetics. Large prospective, placebo-controlled trials are planned, in pilot stage or running, to find a new use (or indication) for an aging population. As one of the metformin trials has "frailty" as its endpoint, similar to a trial with a plant-derived senolytic, the latter class of novel anti-aging drugs is briefly discussed.

Torpor: The Rise and Fall of 3-Monoiodothyronamine from Brain to Gut-From Gut to Brain?

(T1AM), first isolated from rat brain, is reported to be an endogenous, rapidly acting metabolite of thyroxine. One of its numerous effects is the induction of a "torpor-like" state in experimental animals. A critical analysis of T1AM, to serve as an endogenous cryogen, is given.

Does rosuvastatin increase serum levels of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D?

An observational study and a "clinical trial" seem to prove that rosuvastatin (but not fluvastatin) dramatically increases serum levels of 25-(OH)-D3 (three-fold above starting values). A critical analysis of the two publications, presented below, raises serious concerns. Conclusions from these two studies have already been drawn in the scientific literature.