Diabetes and hypertension drug combo kills cancer cells
15 December, 2018
New research, published in the journal Cell Reports, finds a drug combination that kills cancer cells by depleting them of energy.
Metformin is a common drug in the fight against type 2 diabetes.
It lowers blood sugar by slowing the release of glucose from the liver and the absorption of sugar from food in the gut.
The drug also treats insulin resistance by sensitizing the body's cells to insulin, as well as treating obesity and aiding weight loss in people who do not have diabetes or prediabetes.
Recently, scientists have brought more uses of the drug to light. Physicians prescribe metformin to help treat polycystic ovary syndrome, and some researchers have suggested that the drug may improve fertility and help regulate menstrual cycles.
Some have even suggested that metformin may improve longevity. Animal studies have found that the drug may influence the metabolic processes associated with aging and age-related conditions, and clinical trials of metformin's effects on human lifespan are currently under way.
Around 2 years ago, researchers from the Biozentrum at the University of Basel in Switzerland found that metformin, in combination with a blood pressure drug, can stop cancer tumors from growing.
In new research, scientists now show how this drug cocktail works: the combination of metformin and the antihypertensive syrosingopine cuts off cancer's energy supply, resulting in the death of cancer cells.
The new study was conducted at Biozentrum in collaboration with Basilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd. Don Benjamin, from Biozentrum, is the first author of the study.
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