TraCS co-PI John Buse, MD, PhD co-authors study on metformin treatment for COVID-19

Trial compared effect of ivermectin, fluvoxamine, and metformin in randomized double-blinded placebo- controlled trial

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL — Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers — led by the University of Minnesota Medical School and School of Public Health — have found that metformin, a commonly prescribed diabetes medication, lowers the odds of emergency department visits, hospitalizations, or death due to COVID-19 by over 40 percent; and over 50 percent if prescribed early in onset of symptoms. The study also found no positive effect from treatment with either ivermectin or low-dose fluvoxamine.

"We are pleased to contribute to the body of knowledge around COVID-19 therapies in general, with treatments that are widely available," said Carolyn Bramante, MD, principal investigator of the study and an assistant professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at the U of M Medical School. "Our trial suggests that metformin may reduce the likelihood of needing to go to the emergency room or be hospitalized for COVID-19."

Bramante noted that this was a secondary outcome of the trial; the primary outcome included whether someone had low oxygen on a home oxygen monitor, and none of the medications in the trial prevented the primary outcome.

The COVID-OUT trial was the nation's first to study whether metformin, a medication for type 2 diabetes; low-dose fluvoxamine, an antidepressant; and ivermectin, an antiparasitic, or their combinations could serve as possible treatments to prevent ER visits or hospitalization, as well as Long-COVID.

Read more at med.umn.edu/news-events.