ArticleOpen forum infectious diseases2020
Repurposing Metformin in Nondiabetic People With HIV: Influence on Weight and Gut Microbiota.
Article in Open forum infectious diseases, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- HIV and the gut microbiome: future research hotspots and trends.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic review of gut microbiota composition, metabolic alterations, and the effects of treatments on PCOS and gut microbiota across human and animal studies.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Pooled it
- Metformin and Weight Changes in Non-diabetic Older People With HIV (METFORAGING): A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Pilot Trial.Open forum infectious diseases · 2026Trial
- Plasma GDF-15 Levels Are Associated With HIV Reservoir Markers Independently of Inflammation in People With HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Elevated Plasma GDF-15 Levels Are Associated with Aging, Multimorbidity, and Tobacco Exposure in People with HIV.Infectious diseases and therapy · 2026Article
- Type 2 diabetes in people living with HIV: epidemiology, mechanisms, sex differences and early-life determinants.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Review
- Article
- Distinct Gut Microbiota Signatures Are Associated with Severity of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease in People with HIV.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Metformin Treatment and Immune Reconstitution in People With HIV and Type 2 Diabetes: A Matched Retrospective Study.Open forum infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Metformin facilitates viral reservoir reactivation and their recognition by anti-HIV-1 envelope antibodies.iScience · 2024Article
- Metformin Treatment Leads to Increased HIV Transcription and Gene Expression through Increased CREB Phosphorylation and Recruitment to the HIV LTR Promoter.Aging and disease · 2024Article
- Interventions for Type 2 Diabetes reduction among older people living with HIV in Harare.South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care · 2024Review
- Adipose Tissue Dysfunction and Energy Balance Paradigms in People Living With HIV.Endocrine reviews · 2024Review
- Metformin Enhances Antibody-Mediated Recognition of HIV-Infected CD4bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- A Canadian Survey of Research on HIV-1 Latency-Where Are We Now and Where Are We Heading?Viruses · 2024Review
- Review
- Translocation of bacterial LPS is associated with self-reported cognitive abilities in men living with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy.AIDS research and therapy · 2023Article
- (5R)-5-hydroxytriptolide for HIV immunological non-responders receiving ART: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase II study.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2023Article
- Article
- Metformin as adjunctive therapy in combination with multidrug treatment for multibacillary leprosy: A protocol for a randomized double-blind, controlled Phase 2 trial in Indonesia (MetLep Trial).Wellcome open research · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
20 authors at 9 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPeople with HIV (PWH) taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) may experience weight gain, dyslipidemia, increased risk of non-AIDS comorbidities, and long-term alteration of the gut microbiota. Both low CD4/CD8 ratio and chronic inflammation have been associated with changes in the gut microbiota of PWH. The antidiabetic drug metformin has been shown to improve gut microbiota composition while decreasing weight and inflammation in diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome. Nevertheless, it remains unknown whether metformin may benefit PWH receiving ART, especially those with a low CD4/CD8 ratio.
methodsIn the Lilac pilot trial, we recruited 23 nondiabetic PWH receiving ART for more than 2 years with a low CD4/CD8 ratio (<0.7). Blood and stool samples were collected during study visits at baseline, after a 12-week metformin treatment, and 12 weeks after discontinuation. Microbiota composition was analyzed by 16S rDNA gene sequencing, and markers of inflammation were assessed in plasma.
resultsMetformin decreased weight in PWH, and weight loss was inversely correlated with plasma levels of the satiety factor GDF-15. Furthermore, metformin changed the gut microbiota composition by increasing the abundance of anti-inflammatory bacteria such as butyrate-producing species and the protective
conclusionsOur study provides the first evidence that a 12-week metformin treatment decreased weight and favored anti-inflammatory bacteria abundance in the microbiota of nondiabetic ART-treated PWH. Larger randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials with longer metformin treatment will be needed to further investigate the role of metformin in reducing inflammation and the risk of non-AIDS comorbidities in ART-treated PWH.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.