Diabetes Medications Linked to Multiple Sclerosis: New Study Uncovers Surprising Connection

Highlighted Pill Medicine Drug

Anti-hyperglycemic medications are used to lower blood sugar levels in people with high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia. These medications can be used to treat conditions such as diabetes, prediabetes, and gestational diabetes. They work by decreasing the amount of sugar produced by the liver, increasing the sensitivity of muscle and fat cells to insulin, or helping the body use sugar more effectively.

The University of Arizona Center for Innovation in Brain Science conducted a study to investigate whether taking medication for Type 2 diabetes increases the likelihood of developing multiple sclerosis.

According to a study from the University of Arizona Health Sciences, people over the age of 45 with Type 2 diabetes who were treated with anti-hyperglycemic medications had a higher risk of developing multiple sclerosis, particularly among women. However, the study also found that in people under the age of 45, anti-hyperglycemic exposure actually reduced the risk of multiple sclerosis.

“Our findings reinforce the need for a precision medicine approach to preventing MS in these vulnerable populations,” said lead researcher Kathleen Rodgers, Ph.D., associate director of translational neuroscience at the Center for Innovation in Brain Science.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable autoimmune neurological disorder that affects the central nervous system and leads to severe physical and cognitive disability. It is estimated that nearly 1 million adults in the U.S. and more than 2.8 million worldwide are living with MS.

For people with Type 2 diabetes, there is mounting evidence linking metabolic disorders and MS through a common driver of increased autoimmunity. This brings into question the impact of anti-hyperglycemic therapeutics used to treat Type 2 diabetes, including insulin, on the incidence of MS.

“Previous research has shown a neuroprotective effect of anti-hyperglycemic medications in Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias,” Dr. Rodgers said. “For MS, we wanted to further examine age and sex differences, particularly among men and women under 45 with Type 2 diabetes.”

They found that men older than 45 years old had a slightly significant increase of MS risk and women older than 45 years exhibited a significant increase in MS incidence after anti-hyperglycemic exposure. In addition to age differences, the risk analysis by drug class showed that exposure to insulin in patients older than 45 years old was associated with a greater increased risk compared with other therapies.

In patients younger than 45, anti-hyperglycemic exposure was protective against the development of MS.

The study utilized a U.S.-based insurance claims database of 151 million participants to identify more than 5 million patients with a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes and either early-onset or late-onset MS. Researchers segmented the data by age – patients diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes prior to or after age 45 – and sex to decode the factors driving MS risk in both populations, especially in women over 45 years of age.

Reference: “Age and sex differences on anti-hyperglycemic medication exposure and risk of newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis in propensity score matched type 2 diabetics” by Gregory L. Branigan, Georgina Torrandell-Haro, Francesca Vitali, Roberta Diaz Brinton and Kathleen Rodgers, 1 October 2022, Heliyon.
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11196

The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, both divisions of the National Institutes of Health.

25 Comments on "Diabetes Medications Linked to Multiple Sclerosis: New Study Uncovers Surprising Connection"

  1. You should name the drugs that are suspect. And yes, Metformin is one.

  2. Should mention drug name

  3. So metformin isn’t safe for men over 55 to take?

  4. Is it possible to list the names of the drugs?

  5. Is it just me, or is this the most heinous usage of, “details at 11?”
    If nothing else, how about a list of drugs not associated?

    Common drug associated with a need for human brains? News at 11.

    • Indeed..sounds like the ever so popular fear mongering factless tactic that gives way to the “Give us dirty laundry” narrative so fitting for todays society ..
      narrative that

  6. Rosalyn Higginbotham | January 12, 2023 at 5:21 pm | Reply

    I have been taking metformin hydrochloride for years

  7. Bonnie L Aguilar | January 12, 2023 at 7:10 pm | Reply

    Yes I am definitely interested in the medication(s) that are suspects in the MS. I am allergic to so many drugs already. I already have arthritis and TED disease I don’t need any other issues.
    Where can I find out the types
    of medications that cause this issue.

  8. I totally agree. I’m a journalist and diabetic. And having taken three different diabetes drugs I do wonder about the value to readers of not naming the drugs at the heart of the study.

  9. My doctor changed my meds and has just given me a prescription for metformin.

  10. You should not print a story like this that gets people worrying & not give them ALL of the information!! How cruel can you be?!!!

  11. The u.s. government is the most corrupt blood thirsty wretched government that ever existed. I feel sorry for Americans. Big pharma, big food, big med, the FDA, the u.s. government experiment on and keep Americans sick with the poisoned food, the poison pharmaceuticals, the poison over the counter meds, the poisoned water, the poisoned air. The u.s. has the highest percentage of people on pharmaceuticals, the highest percentage of people with brain degenerative diseases, the highest percentage of people with heart disease, the highest percentage of people with auto immune diseases, the highest percentage of obese people, the highest percentage of people with cancers and because of all the poisons Americans consume( the western diet, pharmaceuticals, over the counter meds, the poisoned water, the poisoned food, the poisoned air) and it’s all because big pharma, big food, big med, the FDA, the u.s. government want to keep people sick and dying so they can make their trillions. Big pharma, big food, big med, the FDA, the u.s. government all work together to keep people sick and dying for money

    • I have had Ms for 6 and 1/2 years and now we’re looking at diabetes and I haven’t taken any diabetes medication and have had MS so diabetes medication didn’t cause my MS

    • Yes James and we Ll got our Moderna vaccinations now didn’t we I’m just waiting on what kind of genetic jekyll and Hyde characters going to pop out down the prevalent future I’m 59 come may 7 survival of whatever comes next if the Lord’s a willin and the crick doesn’t Rise .

    • Excellent Overview Of It All. Well Said.

  12. Must release info re medicine, otherwise your news are fake. We know that medicine in this country ia a business like to be a doctor. Mostly of them do lie to the patients about actual things.

  13. The University of Arizona Center for Innovation in Brain Science conducted a study to investigate whether taking medication for Type 2 diabetes increases the likelihood of developing multiple sclerosis.

  14. The University of Arizona Center for Innovation in Brain Science conducted a study to investigate whether taking medication for Type 2 diabetes increases the likelihood of developing multiple sclerosis.

  15. Metformin will Kill you before the Diabetes will! That medicine is horrible! It wouldn’t surprise me if Metformin is on that list. Stop taking this drug and opt for a better medication to treat your Type 2 Diabetes.

  16. Click on the above link to read the study, it does mention Metformin.

    Link… DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11196

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