COPD Study

Pamplona (EFE). A clinical trial involving more than 15 Spanish hospitals, coordinated by the University Hospital of Navarra, aims to reverse the accelerated aging caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with metformin, a diabetes drug.

The study is funded by the Carlos III Institute of Health and the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery, according to the University Hospital of Navarra.

COPD is one of the major pathologies associated with accelerated aging, a phenomenon that causes lung destruction or emphysema and accelerated loss of lung function. Likewise, it is associated with premature development of other diseases associated with aging, such as cardiovascular disease or cancer.

Anti-aging treatment

This research project aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of metformin as an anti-aging agent. Juan Pablo de Torres, co-director of the clinic’s pulmonology department, explains that “the main goal is to stop the progression of emphysema and the accelerated loss of lung function, as well as stop the emergence of other associated diseases.”

According to De Torres, metformin is a cheap and readily available drug that has long been used to treat people with diabetes, which also ensures its safety.

In addition, it acts at different levels of the aging process. In particular, it helps maintain the stability of cellular proteins, improve mitochondrial function and the stability of genetic material, or facilitate intracellular communication.

300 patients with COPD are participating.

The study will last three years and will involve about 300 patients with COPD who have developed centrilobular emphysema, the lung damage associated with smoking and characterized as the most harmful. “In addition, we will have a randomized control group that will be given a placebo to ensure the statistical analysis is correct,” says De Torres.

This study is one of 27 research projects led by researchers from the University Hospital of Navarra and CIMA, which were recently funded by the Carlos III Institute of Health, which allocated 400,000 euros for its development.

In addition, he received 170,000 euros in the form of a scholarship for outstanding achievements of the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (Separ) 2023.