Abstract:

Objective  Evaluating the safety of metformin in the treatment of elderly patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus（T2DM）. Methods  96 cases of elderly T2DM with poorly controlled blood glucose poorly controlled were randomly divided into the metformin group and the control group. The fasting blood glucose(FBG), glycosylated hemoglobin(HbA1c), lipid, hepatic and renal function and serum uric acid（UA） were determined before and after treatment, and the side effect of metformin was also observed. Result  After one year, 94 cases accomplished the observation. After treatment with metfoumin the serum creatinine, uric acid and glomerular filtration rate(GFR) had no significant changes after treatment with metformin（P＞0.05）; the blood urea nitrogen(BUN) significantly increased（P＜0.05）; the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) significantly declined (P＜0.05). The GFR at different levels had no significant changes and no acidosis occurred in all patients.  Level of BUN in the metformin group was higher than that in the controls after treatment（P＜0.05）. Levels of hepatic function, Cr, GFR and UA had no significant difference between the two groups after treatment(P＞0.05). Conclusion  If the patients have no severe hepatic and renal dysfunction, metformin is safe and effective in the treatment of elderly patients with T2DM. Metformin does not promote the reduction of hepatic and renal function. Aging is not the contraindication of metformin, but observation is needed to last for much more time.

Key words: Metformin; Elderly; Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Renal function