A new study suggests metformin, commonly used to treat diabetes, can reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration, with researchers from Taiwan showing people with type 2 diabetes who took metformin had a significantly lower rate of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and concluding the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects of the medication may protect against AMD while it controls diabetes.

Inflammation and oxidative stress have long been known to play a key role in the development of both diabetes and AMD. Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, researchers collected data on all patients recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes from January 2001 to December 2013, dividing them into two groups - those who took metformin (45,524 patients) and those who did not (22,681 patients). After following both groups for 13 years, the study found that half as many patients in the metformin group had AMD compared to the control group.

“While more study is required to determine just how metformin protects against the development of AMD, this is an exciting development for patients at risk,” said lead investigator, Dr Yu-Yen Chen.