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Chinese Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics ›› 2012, Vol. 17 ›› Issue (11): 1314-1320.

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Effects of metformin on bone metabolism

ZHEN Dong-Hu, LIU Li-Juan, TANG Xu-Lei, CHEN Jian-Guo   

  1. Department of Endocrinology, the First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu,China
  • Received:2012-07-16 Revised:2012-08-30 Published:2012-12-04

Abstract: Metformin [1-(diaminomethylidene)-3,3-dimethylguani-dine] is an antihyperglycemia drug commonly used for the management of type 2 diabetes, which has been widely used for more than fifty years and had safety, valid and full-scale effects on controlling plasma glucose in patients with diabetes mellitus. Recent years, more and more studies found that metformin induced osteoblastic growth and differentiation, increased the mineralization of the extracellular matrix, reversed the deleterious effects of high glucose on osteoblast function and also inhibited osteoclastogenesis; Furthermore, in vivo, treatment of mice with metformin has been found to increase bone mineral content, trabecular bone volume and induce bone formation. In addition, using a model of minimal bone defect metformin treatment stimulated bone reossification in both control and diabetic rats. Furthermore, in clinical research, metformin influenced bone mineral density in patients with diabetes mellitus. However, the effects of metformin on bone metabolism and the molecular mechanisms for the action of metformin are still unclear. This article reviews the effects of metformin on bone metabolism and discusses its possible mechanisms.

Key words: Metformin, Osteoblast, Osteoclast

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