When we dream about slowing down the ageing process, we tend to shrug off all the complexities and hope like hell that there’s a magic pill waiting to be discovered. Nice and simple!

Increasingly, scientists have been wondering if metformin, the first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes, might well be that pill.

Namely, the first drug to be prescribed specifically for treating slowing age-related decline.

A new experiment in monkeys effectively turned back the clock, slowing ageing by a number of years in multiple organs, including the brain.

What is metformin?

For hundreds of years the medicinal herb Galega officinalis was a popular remedy for digestive health and urinary problems.

In 1918, it was discovered that guanidine, one of the plant’s active ingredients, lowered blood sugar.

According to an article from the Harvard Medical School, medicines containing guanidine, such as metformin and phenformin, were developed to treat diabetes.

“But they fell out of favour due to serious side effects caused by phenformin, and by the discovery of insulin,” the authors write.

Eventually, metformin made a comeback.

As a diabetes treatment, it works by improving insulin sensitivity, reducing inflammation and promoting cellular repair processes. Metformin also improves the health of your blood vessels.

These factors are also central to slowing ageing and extending longevity.

Meanwhile, researchers are investigating the potential of metformin to lower the risk of cancer in persons with type 2 diabetes. These include cancers of the breast, colon and prostate.

They’re also investigating how metformin lowers the risks for dementia and stroke.

Ageing of organs slowed down

According to Medical News Today, Beijing researchers gave a daily dose of metformin to 36 cynomolgus monkeys over a 40-month period.

The idea was to better understand “metformin’s effects on biological ageing in mammals”.

The scientists “collected tissue samples from multiple organs, conducted brain imaging, and performed physical and cognitive tests at intervals throughout the study”.

This allowed them to assess changes in biological age at the cellular level.

The research team found evidence that “biological ageing slowed down in several organs, including the kidneys, lungs and skin, by 4.9, 5.1, and 2.6 years respectively”.

Most notably, the “researchers observed a significant impact on brain ageing”.

All the monkeys “experienced a reduction in age-related decline, with some showing brain age indicators resembling those of monkeys six years younger”.

Metformin also preserved brain structure and improved cognitive function, “likely due to its activation of Nrf2, a protein known for its anti-oxidative properties”.

The researchers used machine learning models to create “a multi-dimensional framework for assessing ageing in primate tissues and organs, enabling a precise evaluation of metformin’s systemic anti-ageing effects”.

Where next?

Medical News Today says this research may have significance “because the ageing process in monkeys share similarities with humans, particularly in terms of cellular function and metabolic health”.

If these findings translate to humans, “it could mean that metformin has the potential to delay the onset of age-related diseases, improve organ function and enhance overall longevity”.

However, while these early results are promising, more research is needed to determine if the same effects occur in humans.

The Harvard authors note: “While the research so far is promising, we need more compelling evidence before endorsing its widespread use for people without diabetes.

“But, for clinical researchers hoping to repurpose an old medicine as a new wonder drug, metformin would seem like a great place to start.”