Science Sub-Journal: This blood test marker may promote the precise treatment of metformin.

Metformin is a first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes.
, however, a significant proportion of patients do not have ideal blood sugar control after metformin treatment.
a new study published in Scientific Translational Medicine, DNA methylation as a biomarker can predict a patient's response to metformin treatment through simple blood tests.
" helps ensure that patients receive appropriate treatment immediately after diagnosis.
our research is an important step towards the goal of providing individualized care for people with diabetes.
" study's author, Professor Charlotte Ling of the University of Lund's Ontogeneity, said.
: Science Translational Medicine is the drug of choice for people with type 2 diabetes when diet and exercise are not enough to control blood sugar.
if the effect of lowering blood sugar does not achieve the desired effect, or if the patient experiences serious side effects, the medication plan will be adjusted.
30 percent of all people with type 2 diabetes do not respond well to metformin and can use other drugs from the start, according to the team.
, one-third of patients often experience side effects of gastrointestinal discomfort, such as nausea, stomach pain and diarrhea.
5% of patients stopped taking the drug due to serious side effects.
patients are at risk of complications from elevated blood sugar if they take a long time to receive the right treatment," he said.
, it is important to be able to identify these patients after diagnosis.
in other disease areas, such as cancer treatment, there have been studies exploring how overt genetic factors, such as DNA methylation, affect drug effectiveness.
" but such studies have never been done in diabetes treatment.
," says Professor Charlotte Ling.
study, led by Professor Charlotte Ling, was conducted among 363 subjects.
before diabetics started taking metformin, the researchers analyzed their oscic genetic modification (DNA methylation) through blood tests.
A year after follow-up, the researchers looked at the patient's post-treatment blood sugar levels, as well as side effects, and combined with an analysis of presomlised genetic data to find that people with increased DNA methylation at 11 points in the genome were 2.5 percent more likely to react poorly to metformin.
people with high levels of methylation at the other four bits of the genome were three times more likely to be resistant to metformin than the rest of the population.
, researchers are planning a new clinical study that will further validate the findings in a larger patient population, with 1,000 patients from around the world invited to participate in follow-up studies.
resources: s1 . . . Metformin for type 2 diabetes patients or not? Researchers now have the answer, Retrieved September 17, 2020, from Sonia García-Calzón et al., 2020, Epigenetic markers associated with metformin response and analysis in drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes, DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaz1803.