Diabetes Health in the News Podcast: Metformin Linked to Vitamin B12 Deficiencies and Neuropathy
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Dutch researchers have recently conducted a study to see how treating diabetes with metformin could affect vitamin B12 deficiencies and neuropathy. The study consisted of two groups: the first group was taking 850mg of metformin three times a day for a total of 52 months while the other group took a placebo.
The findings showed that the group taking the metformin had an increase in methylmalonic acid, which is an indicator of a vitamin B12 deficiency. An association was also revealed between a rise of metformin and worsening of a patient’s peripheral neuropathy. With over 100 million metformin prescriptions being filled each year, many patients could be at risk, but further testing is needed to understand the relationship between the metformin and the possible negative implications.
These findings were presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting on September 18, 2015.
