UK, UAB Partner on Clinical Trial of Metformin’s Muscle Effect

The University of Kentucky and University of Alabama at Birmingham are partners on a $2.9 million, five-year National Institute on Aging clinical study to explore how Metformin may benefit older adults who do not respond well to exercise. 

Metformin, a generic drug and the most widely prescribed drug for type 2 diabetes, may be a low-cost, personalized approach to prevent frailty in the elderly by improving their muscle growth response.

Principal investigators Charlotte Peterson and Philip Kern at UK are partnering with Marcas Bamman at UAB. Kern, director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences, said, “We have significant strength in clinical and translational research through our CTSA. We have strength in diabetes, in metabolism, and in muscle biology. So I think it really leverages these different strengths and puts them together in one grant.”

Read the UKNow article.