The effects of metformin on metabolism and cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes

Patients with diabetes type 2 benefit from continuing the metformin treatment when the moment has come that insulin administering becomes necessary. This is shown by this research that studied the long-term (4.3 years) effects of metformin on among others cardiovascular diseases. The metformin induced improvement in cardiovascular diseases was partly explained by weight loss and improvement in endothelial function in the metformin group, but not by lower insulin levels. Finally, long-term metformin treatment turned out to considerably decrease the risk of developing a vitamin B12 deficiency. The present guidelines, however, don’t make recommendations for the prevention and detection of vitamin B12 deficiencies during the metformin treatment. This research presents strong arguments for the routine determination of vitamin B12 during the metformin treatment