Ramin Tolouian
1, Hamid Nasri
2, Azar Baradaran
3, Parto Nasri
2, Samaneh Khodadadi
4, Mahmoud Rafieian-Kopaei
5*1 Department of Medicine, Manatee Memorial Hospital, Bradenton, FL, USA
2 Department of Nephrology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
3 Department of pathology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
4 Nickan Research Institute, Isfahan, Iran
5 Medical Plants Research Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran
Abstract
Globally diabetes is a major cause of kidney failure. Metformin is non-nephrotoxic and one of the first choice hypoglycemic agents in treatment of diabetes. We reviewed the effect of metformin in diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Directory of open access journals (DOAJ), Google Scholar, PubMed, EBSCO, and Web of Science with keywords relevant to; chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, metformin, diabetic nephropathy, have been searched. Diabetes causes expression of extracellular matrix mediators and secretory factors that eventually lead to morphological changes in mesangial, interestitium and glomerular cells. The biguanide, metformin is derived from French lilac (Galega officinalis). Metformin is a commonly prescribed drug for type II diabetes around the world due to its safety record and reduction of micro-vascular and cardiovascular events. It appears that metformin has multiple roles in protecting kidney in diabetic patients by tubular cell protection, improving hypertension, albuminuria and restoring the glomerular podocytes. It may be justified to use metformin for nephron-protection in early stage of DKD.
Citation: Tolouian R, Nasri H, Baradaran A, Nasri P, Khodadadi S, Rafieian-Kopaei M. A nephrology viewpoint on renoprotective properties of metformin. Ann Res Antioxid. 2016;1(2):e20.