Medical site Medline Plus indicates Metformin helps people with diabetes control the amount of sugar in their blood. It decreases the amount of glucose absorbed from food and increases the body’s response to insulin. Adobe Stock photo provided by INNS.

By Terri Dee
Indiana News Service

INDIANAPOLIS — The aftermath of COVID-19 infections has left many with unexplainable fatigue or memory loss. A new study reveals a prescription used for another chronic illness shows promising results in reducing COVID aftereffects.

Metformin is what doctors often prescribe for managing Type 2 diabetes.

The study says taking Metformin within a week of the onset of COVID-19 symptoms showed a 53% lower risk of symptoms lasting longer-term.

Internist and fibromyalgia Specialist Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum at Washington University said the result of studies on nine million people, with and without diabetes, revealed how the medication works.

“And it turns out that Metformin acts like birth control for COVID,” said Teitelbaum. “It suppresses the viral replication, keeps it from getting in cells, and basically, it’s like the virus hits a red light.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Indiana is one of eight states where COVID infections are growing.

And only about one in ten people statewide have received the latest booster shot to prevent it. Numbers could spike over the holidays, as more people gather together indoors.

A review published in Nature Medicine looks at the economics of using Metformin.

It notes long COVID has impacted more than 400 million people globally, costing $1 trillion a year — and suggests more than half of those cases were preventable had Metformin been administered.

Teitelbaum said the drug is inexpensive, and he said he wants patients to take a more proactive role in their health when dealing with these issues.

“Well, doctors are just learning about it,” said Teitelbaum. “There’s nobody paying to get this information to physicians, which means that you’re going to have to be the one as a patient to get this research to your doctor and to ask them. This is how doctors will hear about studies.”

The CDC has found American Indians and Alaska Natives are about 3.5 times more likely to experience long COVID. The likelihood for people who identify as Hispanic or Black is 2.5 times.