United States: In a revelation by scholars at the University of Minnesota, it has been unveiled that a common medication for diabetes exhibits the capacity to diminish the volume of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and mitigate the possibility of a resurgence of COVID-19 symptoms if administered promptly during mild illness.
“The findings from this investigation carry substantial weight due to the persistent affliction caused by COVID-19, both in its acute phase and during the prolonged aftermath of infection,” remarked Carolyn Bramante, MD, the principal researcher and an adjunct professor at the U of M Medical School, in a statement disclosed on May 2, 2024, as per the reports by precisionvaccinations.com.
This scholarly inquiry was disseminated in the pages of the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal on May 1, 2024.
Scientists indicated that, in this phase 3 randomized, placebo-controlled intervention evaluation for outpatient management of SARS-CoV-2, metformin directly reduced the virus.
The average SARS-CoV-2 viral burden reduced 3.6-fold with metformin (P = .027) in comparison to the placebo (-0.56 log10 copies/mL; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.05 to -0.06; precisionvaccinations.com).
The risk (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.55 to 0.94) of those patients administered a dosage of metformin having a detectable viral burden on the 5th or 10th day was statistically significant.
The resurgence of the virus, delineated as an elevated viral load on the tenth day as opposed to the fifth day, was a less frequent occurrence with metformin (3.28%) than with placebo (5.95%; OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.36 to 1.29).
The impact of metformin remained consistent across various subcategories and intensified over time.
In a corresponding commentary, the authors of the study remarked, “This research presents a compelling argument for the plausible impact of metformin on COVID-19… and instigates a reassessment of extant data corroborating its application,” as precisionvaccinations.com outlined.
The financial backing for the clinical trial was provided by The Rainwater Charitable Foundation, The Parsemus Foundation, UnitedHealth Group, and Fast Grants. The time devoted by Dr. Bramante and Jacinda Nicklas was underwritten by the National Institutes of Health.