Metformin Use and High Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol Level in Type 2 Diabetic Patients
Sri Agung Aryastuti (a*), Asri Lestarini (a), Ni Putu Diah Witari (a)
a)Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Warmadewa University, Jl. Terompong No. 24 Denpasar, Bali-Indonesia
sriagungary[at]gmail.com
Abstract
Metformin, a biguanide oral antidiabetic, is the initial treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Metformin is recommended either as a monotherapy or combination with the other antidiabetic agents. Some studies suggest that metformin treatments have been shown to be associated with improved the high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) level in type 2 diabetes mellitus by interfering with AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway. Metformin activate AMPK that stimulates catabolic processes (glycolysis and fatty acid oxidation) and inhibits anabolic pathways (gluconeogenesis and fatty acid synthesis). This is a cross-sectional study aiming to compare HDL level in type 2 diabetic patients using metformin and non-metformin. A total of 138 patients were included in this study with mean age 59.93 (±9.49) years. In the metformin group, the median HDL-C level was 48 mg/dL, while in non-metformin group the median HDL-C level was 45 mg/dL. HDL-level in the metformin group was higher than non-metformin group but it is not statistically significant (p>0.05; Mann Whitney U test). Further studies are needed to investigate another oxidative stress parameter related to AMPK pathway.
Keywords: metformin, HDL, type 2 diabetes mellitus
Topic: Pharmacology