Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42900294›Full record

ArticleGeroScience2026

An exploratory study of the effect of metformin on the whole blood transcriptome of nondiabetic older adults with age-related macular degeneration.

Xinyi Chen, Yi S Zhang, Daisy Yan, Thuy Doan, Liangbo L Shen, Abu T Taha, Daphne Yang, Catherine Psaras, Jacquelyn K Callander, Nicole Y Xin and 9 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in GeroScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02684578 (METforMIN), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT02684578 phase2completednot on this map

METforMIN: Metformin Administration for the Minimization of Geographic Atrophy Progression in Patients With Age-related Macular Degeneration

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of California, San FranciscoRan2016 to 2022Enrolled66ConditionsAge-Related Macular Degeneration, Macular Degeneration, Age-Related, Dry Macular Degeneration, Geographic AtrophyArmsMetformin
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Xinyi ChenDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Yi S ZhangDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Daisy YanFrancis I. Proctor Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Thuy DoanDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Liangbo L ShenDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Abu T TahaDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Daphne YangDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Catherine PsarasDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Jacquelyn K CallanderDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Nicole Y XinDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Arjun ShivkumarDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Amani A FawziFeinberg School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Glenn YiuDepartment of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA.
David G TelanderRetinal Consultants Medical Group, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Loh-Shan B LeungDepartment of Ophthalmology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Christina FlaxelDepartment of Ophthalmology, Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
John C NewmanBuck Institute for Research On Aging, Novato, CA, USA.
Jeremy D KeenanDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Jay M StewartDepartment of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. jay.stewart@ucsf.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1054-3423

Funding

NEI NIH HHS Core Grant for Vision Research P30 EY037668Research to Prevent Blindness Unrestricted Grant
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Metformin has received increasing attention for benefits beyond blood glucose lowering. The purpose of this study was to identify changes in whole blood transcriptome from a course of metformin in a randomized trial (NCT02684578) of nondiabetic older adults with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We included patients who were ≥ 55 years of age, nondiabetic, and had geographic atrophy due to AMD. We excluded patients with metformin use for another reason, reduced renal or liver function, or other vitreoretinal diseases. Participants were randomized to metformin or control. The metformin group was prescribed 1000 mg metformin twice daily for 18 months. All eligible patients were approached for consent to blood sample collection. We performed metagenomic sequencing on whole blood samples and conducted differential expression analysis. Fifteen patients underwent blood collection, with eight in the metformin group and seven in the control group. No individual gene achieved statistical significance of difference between groups after correction for multiple comparisons. As a secondary, hypothesis-generating analysis, canonical pathway analysis found downregulation of interferon α/β signaling (P = 0.003, z score = -2.4), cell junction organization (P = 0.03, z score = -2.2), and epithelial mesenchymal transition pathways in the metformin group (P = 0.02, z score = -2.2). There was possible inhibition of upstream proinflammatory molecules and activation of anti-inflammatory molecules by metformin. In this small sub-study of a randomized trial, no gene was significantly changed after metformin exposure. Pathway enrichment analysis identified signals potentially consistent with metformin-associated modulation of "inflammaging" and other biological pathways which require validation in larger cohorts.

Indexed as

Canonical pathwayInflammagingInflammationTranscriptomeUpstream regulator

Identifiers

PMID42900294

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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.