Metformin is currently the most prescribed drug against type 2 diabetes, a chronic condition that affects around 3.7 million people in France. This medication (Glucophage®, Diabamyl®) acts mainly on the liver where it inhibits the production of glucose; however, in a press release published on January 29, 2018, the ANSM recalled that “metformin exposes a very rare risk of lactic acidosis, which is sometimes fatal”.
According to a new study conducted by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim (Norway), metformin taken during pregnancy could have an impact on the weight of the unborn baby and promote the development of overweight or obesity in him.
To reach this conclusion, the Norwegian researchers followed 161 children born to mothers who had been offered an experiment: half of the mothers (with gestational diabetes) had to take metformin during their pregnancy, the other half had to take metformin during their pregnancy. entitled to a placebo.
Overweight or obese by the age of 4
Verdict? At the age of 4, children whose mothers had received metformin-based treatment during their pregnancy had a higher than average body mass index (BMI), often with overweight or obesity. While the weight of the children at birth was generally the same, the first differences between children whose mothers were treated with metformin and those whose mothers had received only a placebo appeared around the age of 6 months. .
“The active ingredients of the drug cross the placental barrier and can therefore damage the health of the unborn child: future mothers who take metformin must therefore be careful and, above all, respect the prescribed doses” underline the researchers, who published their work in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
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