Publication:

Impact of metformin on the severity and outcomes of ischemic stroke

Background Stroke is the third most common cause of death in the United States and the most commonly diagnosed neurological disorder. About 750,000 strokes occur annually in the United States and about 150,000 people die as a result of stroke. The aim of this study was evaluation of the effect of Metformin on complication of ischemic strokes.

Methods In this randomized, double-blind clinical trial study, 100 patients with ischemic stroke will be assigned randomly into two groups A and B. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) will be used to evaluate the clinical manifestations of ischemic stroke. The two groups will be followed up for 3 months. Metformin 500mg twice in a day will be administered for seven days for group (A) and placebo will be administered for seven days for group (B). Blood glucose will be checked every 6 hours and will be recorded on the blood glucose (BS) chart. Before the intervention, the NIHSS questionnaire will be recorded in one day, three days, seven days and one month, two months, and three months after the intervention will be followed up respectively.

Results In the present study, according to the neuro-protective effects of metformin, there is a significant difference in metformin taking in the reduction of NIHSS Score in non-diabetic stroke patients. There was a significant association in metformin taking and decrease in NIHSS scores in patients with cortical ischemic stroke.

Conclusions According to the results, in patients with cortical stroke, there weren’t a significant difference in NIHSS between the two groups in the first, third and seventh days but in the first, second and third months after intervention the difference was significant. Also, the results showed that metformin reduced the severity and stroke symptoms and accelerated recovery and functional output in patients with cortical stroke after the first, second and third months.