The drug is not regularly given to patients with Type 1 diabetes.
A low-cost drug commonly prescribed for Type 2 diabetes may slow the development of heart disease in patients with Type 1 diabetes, a new study has claimed.
Metformin is an inexpensive treatment that is often used for Type 2 diabetes to lower blood sugar levels by reducing glucose production in the liver.
The drug is not regularly given to patients with Type 1 diabetes.
However, for the first time, a clinical trial by researchers from Newcastle University in the UK has shown that metformin can promote a patient's ability to repair their own damaged blood vessels by increasing vascular stem cells.
Heart disease is the leading cause of illness in diabetic patients, accounting for more than half of all fatalities.
Metformin may be used to lower Type 1 diabetic patients' risk of developing this complication, researchers said.
"Metformin could routinely be used by patients with Type 1 diabetes to help lower their chances of developing heart disease, by increasing a repair mechanism created by vascular stem cells released from the bone marrow," said Jolanta Weaver from Newcastle University.
"Our research is an exciting step forward as it may have positive clinical implications for patients with increased risk of cardiovascular disease by improving their treatment options," said Weaver.
"Our findings also show that the cells associated with damaged blood vessels were reduced, confirming that the repair of blood vessels was taking place in our patients," she added.
Researchers studied a treatment group of 23 people aged 19-64 who had Type 1 diabetes for up to 23 years and had no evidence of heart disease.
Patients were given metformin at a dose they could tolerate, between one to three tablets a day, for eight weeks. Participants were advised to adjust their insulin to keep blood glucose levels safe.
Scientists measured patients' stem cells directly in the blood and also grew stem cells in a test tube, observing how they behaved. Another cell type was also counted to assess damaged blood vessels.
The participants were matched with nine patients within the same age bracket who took standard insulin treatment and 23 healthy non-diabetic people aged 20-64.
Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong autoimmune condition that develops when the pancreas does not produce any insulin, causing a person's blood sugar level to become too high.
"We have shown that all our patients in the study had their insulin doses reduced after taking metformin and have not suffered any serious adverse effect," said Weaver.
The findings were published in the journal Cardiovascular Diabetology.
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