The role of metformin in the light of the most recent Guidelines

Metformin was introduced in the market about 60 years ago and is definitely the most used drug in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus at the moment. In fact, it has insulin-sensitizing properties, through which it provides not only doubtless glucose lowering effects but also some protection against ADRD and cancer and especially significant cardiovascular benefits. We hereby briefly review the literature behind the above mentioned extra-glycemic effects and, based on expected additional benefits, suggest to refrain from delaying metformin utilization in addition to first class drugs like inhibitors of type 2 sodiumglucose cotransport (SGLT-2i) and /or glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RA) in people at high cardiovascular risk with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. KEY WORDS metformin; diabetes mellitus; cardiovascular disease; ADRD; cancer