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Completed

NCT Number: NCT02986659

Genomic Outcomes of Metformin

Medical scientists have found that people with diabetes who take the drug Metformin have less age-related disease than those taking other treatments and researchers believe it may prevent numerous diseases and conditions that effect older people. In addition, metformin extends lifespan in some animal models of human disease. The purpose of this study is to see if taking Metformin causes changes in blood cells consistent with improved health and longevity in people who do not have diabetes. In this study Metformin will be compared to placebo. A placebo is a substance, like a sugar pill, that is not thought to have any effect on a participants disease or condition. In this study participants will either receive the active study medication, Metformin or placebo which is not active. Placebos are used in research studies to see if the drug being studied really does have an effect.

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Key information

Conditions

Coronary Artery Disease Arterial Occlusive Diseases Arteriosclerosis Body Weight Cardiovascular Diseases Cognition Disorders Cognitive Dysfunction Coronary Disease Heart Diseases Hypertension Mental Disorders Mild Cognitive Impairment Myocardial Ischemia Neurocognitive Disorders Nutrition Disorders Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases Obesity Obesity, Abdominal Overnutrition Overweight Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms Vascular Diseases

Age range

65 year–79 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 4

Primary location

Wake Forest Health Sciences

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27157, United States

About this study

The number of older adults is projected to increase dramatically by 2050. Aging-related diseases and conditions still seriously compromise the quality of life among most older adults. Several pharmaceutical agents, such as metformin, have been tested to extend lifespan and delay aging-related diseases and dysfunctions in mice. Metformin, a biguanide antidiabetic drug, reduces the risk for developing type-2 diabetes in persons at risk by over one-third with few adverse effects (e.g., gastrointestinal irritation). Metformin prevents type-2 diabetes primarily through decreasing hepatic glucose synthesis, as well as enhancing insulin sensitivity and increasing peripheral glucose uptake. The molecular mechanisms remain unclear, although a number of potential mechanism such as activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and inhibition of mitochondrial glycerophosphate dehydrogenase have been proposed. The fact that metformin treatment in persons with type-2 diabetes has been associated with reduced risk of other aging-related diseases and conditions, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and cognitive decline supports the possibility of the beneficial effects of metformin on healthy aging. It is imperative to capitalize on these leads to extend health span among older adults.

To translate animal findings to human intervention trials, appropriate aging biomarkers are needed. Methylomic and transcriptomic profiles in relevant cells may reflect molecular features that mediate effects of both genetic and environmental factors on aging-related functional decline and disease. The roles of monocytes have been implicated in development of many aging-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurodegenerative disease. In a cross-sectional association study of 1,200 monocyte samples, we identified 1,794 age-associated methylation sites and 2,704 age-associated transcripts, which were over-represented in two networks (autophagy and oxidative phosphorylation) and suggestive of decline in those functions with age. Both autophagy and oxidative phosphorylation are considered as key contributors to the aging process, and their dysfunctions have been linked to aging-related diseases. Changes in these aging-related omic biomarkers may be early indicators of cellular damage or disruption that eventually leads to age-related dysfunctions. Assessment of these aging biomarkers in response to therapeutic intervention may also provide molecular insight for personalizing treatment. The investigators propose a pilot study to examine changes in aging-related omic profiles after 3 months of metformin treatment in 35 monocyte samples from older adults using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study design.

Our overarching goal of the pilot study is to evaluate the utility of using the aging-related omic biomarkers as an indicator of pharmacologic responses in the anti-aging therapeutic intervention trials through the following specific aims. Although this pilot study does not have sufficient power to definitively test all the aims, it will provide essential preliminary data for developing a full scale research program.

  • Aim 1A: To test the effects of the metformin treatment on transcriptomic profiles and related functional changes in human monocytes,
  • Aim 1B: To explore the effects of the metformin treatment on methylomic profiles in human monocytes,
  • Aim 2: To investigate the longitudinal relationship between transcriptional and functional changes in human monocytes during the metformin treatment and
  • Aim 3: To test the effects of the metformin treatment on frailty and other aging-related physical and cognitive measures and investigate the longitudinal relationship between these changes and transcriptional changes.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial in 30 participants using metformin and matching placebo will be used. In the absence of a treatment by sequence interaction effect, this design can increase study power for evaluating treatment effects by allowing each participant to be his/her own control. The period effect may be minimum because the primary outcomes, methylation and transcriptional measures, are relatively stable overtime.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 65 - 79

Must meet criteria from one or more of the following groups:

Group 1 (Can have 1 or 2 of these, but not all 3)

  • History of coronary artery disease (MI/heart attack, stroke, heart failure, or peripheral artery disease)
  • Cancer, with no active treatment in the last year
  • MCI (MoCA >18<26 -inclusive of 1 point if <12 years of education Group 2
  • Decline physical function (walking speed < 1 m/s) Group 3 (Either or both)
  • Abdominal obesity (>88cm women, >102cm men) AND hypertension (treated or resting blood pressure >140/90
  • Abdominal obesity (>88cm women, >102cm men) AND hyperlipidemia (treated or fasting total cholesterol >240 English literacy Willing to provide informed consent

Exclusion criteria

  • eGFR <45
  • Type 2 diabetes (HbA1c>6.5) or type 1 diabetes
  • Any tobacco or nicotine product use in the past year
  • Low vitamin B12 Levels (< 300 pg/mL)
  • Self-reported severe difficulty or inability to walk 400m or climb 10 steps (from Q 2 and 19 on PAT-D)
  • Self-reported difficulty or inability to perform basic ADL functions (from Q 10, 13, 14, 16 on PAT-D)
  • Excessive alcohol use (>14 drinks/week)
  • Cancer requiring treatment in past year (except skin)
  • Dementia - diagnosed and/or MoCA score <18
  • Parkinson's or other neurological disease
  • Chronic liver disease or cirrhosis
  • End stage renal disease or on dialysis
  • Rheumatic conditions (Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and any other autoimmune disease the -PI deems them to be ineligible for)
  • Thyroid problems the PI deems them to be ineligible for
  • Gout
  • Involved in another interventional study
  • Hemoglobin <8 or diagnosed with anemia
  • Recent unintentional weight change (+/- 10 lbs. in the last 12 months)
  • BMI <18.5
  • Likely to not follow the protocol
  • PI deems unfit to participate
  • Already taking Metformin or any other drug intended to treat diabetes

Treatment and study plan

metformin

Drug

Placebo

Drug

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Eigengene Scores

    Time frame: baseline through 12 weeks

    Part of blood sample analysis will give results for Individual methylation sites and transcripts, especially the eigengenes of autophage, oxidative phosphorylation and protein synthesis networks Methylomic and transcriptomic profiles in monocytes. All of the results for these measures will be aggregated into an eigengene score. The eigengene score is a summary measure of a group of correlated genes. This score may indicate status of a biological function. In this analysis, the observed range of values were from -0.48 to 0.66. A lower score means downregulation of the gene group, while a higher score upregulation. No theoretical minimum or maximum value exist for this assay.

  2. Change in Eigengene Scores

    Time frame: baseline through 24 weeks

    Part of blood sample analysis will give results for Individual methylation sites and transcripts, especially the eigengenes of autophage, oxidative phosphorylation and protein synthesis networks Methylomic and transcriptomic profiles in monocytes. All of the results for these measures will be aggregated into an eigengene score. The eigengene score is a summary measure of a group of correlated genes. This score may indicate status of a biological function. In this analysis, the observed range of values were from -0.48 to 0.66. A lower score means downregulation of the gene group, while a higher score upregulation. No theoretical minimum or maximum value exist for this assay.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Functional Measures--macroautophagy

    Time frame: baseline through 12 weeks, 12 weeks through 24 weeks

    Macroautophagy is a process of wrapping cellular components inside autophagosomes and delivering them to lysosomes for degradation.

  2. Functional Measures--microautophagy

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks, 12 weeks through 24 weeks

  3. Functional Measures--chaperone-mediated Autophagy

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks, 12 weeks through 24 weeks

  4. Mitochondria Function: Respiratory Control Ratio (RCR)

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks, 12 weeks through 24 weeks

  5. Mitochondria Function: State 3 (Maximal Oxygen Consumption Rate)

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks, 12 weeks through 24 weeks

  6. Mitochondria Function: State 4 (Oxygen Consumption Upon Inhibition of ATP Synthase)

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks, 12 weeks through 24 weeks

Other outcomes

  1. Vital Signs

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks, 12 weeks through 24 weeks

  2. Change in Expanded Short Physical Performance Battery (eSPPB)

    Time frame: From baseline through 12 weeks

    Score ranges from 0 (low physical function) to 12 (high physical function).

  3. Change in Expanded Short Physical Performance Battery (eSPPB)

    Time frame: From 12 weeks through 24 weeks

    Score ranges from 0 (low physical function) to 12 (high physical function).

  4. Nottingham Power Rig

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks, 12 weeks through 24 weeks

    The Nottingham power rig evaluates mean unilateral leg muscle power

  5. Grip Strength

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks and 12 weeks through 24 weeks

    measurement of the amount of static force that the hand can squeeze

  6. Change in Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks

    Change in score. Score ranges from 0 (low cognitive function) to 30 (high cognitive function).

  7. Change in Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)

    Time frame: 12 weeks through 24 weeks

    Change in score. Score ranges from 0 (low cognitive function) to 30 (high cognitive function).

  8. Blood Lipids--total Cholesterol

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks and 12 weeks through 24 weeks

  9. Blood Lipids--HDL-Cholesterol

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks and 12 weeks through 24 weeks

  10. Blood Lipids--Triglycerides

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks and 12 weeks through 24 weeks

  11. Blood Lipids--calculated LDL Levels

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks and 12 weeks through 24 weeks

  12. Mobility Assessment Tool - Short Form (MAT-sf).

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks and 12 weeks through 24 weeks

    MAT-sf is a tool for assessing self-perception of mobility. The possible range of score is from 30 to 80 with lower score indicating lower perception of mobility.

  13. Pepper Assessment Tool for Disability (PAT-D)

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks and 12 weeks through 24 weeks

    The PAT-D is a self-administered questionnaire which consists of 23 items that include a range of activities that assess mobility, activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Responses are made on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("usually did with no difficulty") to 5 ("unable to do") or a box can be checked that reads "usually did not do for other reasons".

  14. Medication Adherence

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 weeks and 12 weeks through 24 weeks

    Amount of medication expected to be taken vs. amount participant actually takes.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Registry information

Acronym: GOMET

Important dates

Study start
2016
Primary completion
2018
Study completion
2018
First posted
Dec 8, 2016
Registry last updated
Nov 18, 2023

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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