Metformin, a medication commonly prescribed for treating type 2 diabetes, may also be an effective treatment for atrial fibrillation (AFib), according to new research published in Cell Reports Medicine.[1] Much more research is still needed to confirm this finding.
Metformin targets 30 different genes that are already associated with AFib, researchers found using “advanced computation and genetic sequencing.” The medication directly affects gene expression for eight of those genes.
The group’s analysis also identified eight other potential candidates for treating AFib, starting with a list of 2,800 potential candidates. Metformin showed the most potential by a considerable margin.
“Finding drugs or procedures to treat AFib is difficult because of potential serious side effects,” senior author Mina Chung, MD, of the Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic, said in a prepared statement. “There is a significant need for new treatments for AFib as there have been no new drugs approved in more than a decade.”
Cleveland Clinic’s team of researchers believes they’ve found a way to speed up a process that often takes decades to complete.
“We can cut off 10+ years in the drug development pipeline,” co-senior author Feixiong Cheng, PhD, of Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute, said in the same statement. We already have the information there. We just have to test it in a very computationally efficient way, such as artificial intelligence technology.”
Funding for this research came from a $14.2 million grant awarded to Cleveland Clinic by the National Institutes of Health.
“This generous grant from the NIH will extend our ability to analyze our extensive cardiac biorepository and will also hopefully lead to new treatments for all patients who develop atrial fibrillation,” Lars G. Svensson, MD, PhD, chair of the Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute, said at the time. “We congratulate Dr. Chung and all of the members involved in the project.”
Back in July, Cleveland Clinic was chosen as the No. 1. hospital for cardiology and heart surgery by U.S. News and World Report.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.