Diabetes drug could be used to halt ticking time bomb condition

Scientists are assessing whether a drug given to diabetes patients could be used to halt the progression of a potentially deadly condition.

Metformin, which is used to treat high blood sugar caused by diabetes, is being used in trials for patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), which are responsible for 4,000 deaths in the UK each year.

An AAA is a balloon-like swelling of the aorta – the artery that carries blood from the heart to the abdomen.

Researchers said they hoped the drug could be the AAA treatment they had been “long looking for”.

Most aneurysms do not cause problems but there is a risk that large aneurysms could burst, or rupture, which can be deadly.

Philip Gosling, 80, a farmer from Leicestershire, was the first person recruited to the UK arm of the metformin trial, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

He said: “I believe in research, I see the results of it every day on the farm, where science has changed things so much from when I started. When they told me about the trial, I had to get involved.”

Mr Gosling was referred to a specialist after a routine screening detected his AAA.

Men over 64 at highest risk

Screening is offered to all men over the age of 64 because they are at the highest risk of the condition.

If an AAA is small, patients will not be given treatment, but they will be given regular scans to check on its size. If an aneurysm grows, the risk of it bursting becomes higher.

Mr Gosling, who still helps his son on the family farm, said: “My aneurysm is 4cm wide, so it isn’t big enough to operate on. I asked what I could do to stop it growing, and that’s when they told me about the trial.”

The trial, backed by a £1.2m BHF grant, is the largest ever drug trial for AAA and aims to recruit 1,000 patients over two years.

Men and women with a small AAA who take part in the trial will be given metformin or placebo tablets daily until their AAA needs surgical repair, usually for at least two years.

Mr Gosling started the first stage of the trial in July, where he was given metformin in gradually larger doses over six weeks to make sure he could tolerate the drug.

He is now on the second stage, where he is taking either metformin or a placebo and having regular check-ups to see if his AAA is growing.

‘Treatment we’ve been looking for’

It is hoped that by slowing or preventing aneurysm growth, patients could avoid major AAA surgery, which carries its own risks.

Prof Matt Bown, the BHF professor of vascular surgery at the University of Leicester, who is leading the UK branch of the trial, said: “Evidence suggests metformin could be the treatment for AAA we’ve long been looking for.

“Research in the lab indicates it could be working to prevent AAA growth by blocking inflammation in the aorta, a key factor that causes AAA enlargement.

“This trial will involve people who can currently do nothing but wait for their aneurysm to grow to a dangerous size.”

Prof Bryan Williams, the chief scientific and medical officer at the BHF, said: “Abdominal aortic aneurysm increases the risk of rupture of this major blood vessel, which can have catastrophic consequences.

“The risk of rupture increases as the size of the aneurysm increases, and to date, we don’t have effective drug treatments to limit the expansion of these aneurysms.

“This important clinical trial will reveal whether this simple treatment can stop aneurysm growth and, if it does, this would be a major breakthrough, providing reassurance for patients affected by this condition.”