Diabetes drug Metformin you pop every morning not just impacts blood sugar level, but also affects your brain

Metformin has been the standard treatment for type 2 diabetes for more than 60 years now and it is reliable, cheap and has a safety record. A study published in Science Advances, by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and international collaborators has identified something unexpected: metaformin works directly in the brain, which could lead to new types of treatment, according to a report in Science Alert. The drug shuts down a protein called Rap1 in a part of the brain that helps control energy and glucose. The researchers found that SF1 neurons are activated when metformin is introduced into the brain, suggesting they're directly involved in the drug's action

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Metformin is a long-acting and relatively affordable medication that helps manage Type 2 Diabetes by lowering the amount of glucose produced by the liver and improving the body’s ability to use insulin efficiently.


“It’s been widely accepted that metformin lowers blood glucose primarily by reducing glucose output in the liver,” said Dr. Makoto Fukuda, associate professor of pediatrics and nutrition at Baylor and the study’s corresponding author. “Other studies have found that it acts through the gut. We looked into the brain as it is widely recognized as a key regulator of whole-body glucose metabolism.”

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"We looked into the brain as it is widely recognized as a key regulator of whole-body glucose metabolism. We investigated whether and how the brain contributes to the anti-diabetic effects of metformin."

Diabetes drug Metformin unexpectedly affects your brain

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine discovered in 2025 a specific brain pathway through which the drug appears to act, alongside its effects on other biological processes across the body.

“This discovery changes how we think about metformin. It’s not just working in the liver or the gut, it’s also acting in the brain. We found that while the liver and intestines need high concentrations of the drug to respond, the brain reacts to much lower levels.”

"We also investigated which cells in the VMH were involved in mediating metformin's effects," said Fukuda. "We found that SF1 neurons are activated when metformin is introduced into the brain, suggesting they're directly involved in the drug's action." "These findings open the door to developing new diabetes treatments that directly target this pathway in the brain," Fukuda said.

"In addition, metformin is known for other health benefits, such as slowing brain aging. We plan to investigate whether this same brain Rap1 signaling is responsible for other well-documented effects of the drug on the brain."

This also ties into other interesting studies that have found the same drug can slow brain aging and improve lifespan.

Metformin is also regarded as a gerotherapeutic—a drug that may help slow down certain aging processes in the body. Research suggests it can limit DNA damage and support gene activity linked to longevity.

Earlier studies have also indicated that metformin may reduce wear and tear in the brain and could even lower the risk of Long COVID.

In a 2025 study involving over 400 postmenopausal women, researchers compared metformin with another diabetes drug, Sulfonylurea. Understanding how metformin impacts the body as a whole may help doctors make more informed decisions about prescribing it beyond diabetes treatment, while also improving its overall safety.

"This discovery changes how we think about metformin," said Fukuda. "It's not just working in the liver or the gut, it's also acting in the brain."

"We found that while the liver and intestines need high concentrations of the drug to respond, the brain reacts to much lower levels."