People with chronic diabetic foot ulcers may soon have a new treatment option, which allows for faster healing and fewer hospital visits. Injectable insulin and oral metformin are two common diabetic medications.

Researchers from Michigan State University and South Shore Hospital have shown that taking both medications together raises the amount of metformin at the wound site.

Insulin and Metformin in Diabetic Foot Ulcers Treatment

Metformin’s ability to speed up wound healing could be good news for the 18.6 million people worldwide (1.6 million in the United States) who develop a diabetic foot ulcer, or DFU, in their lifetime.

The paper published in ACS Pharmacology and Translational Science explains a previously unknown connection between insulin and metformin in diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) exudates(1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Millions of people with diabetic foot ulcers could benefit from new research discovery

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Researchers at Michigan State University and South Shore Hospital in Massachusetts discovered a link between two popular diabetes medicines, insulin, and metformin, found in diabetic foot ulcer wound exudates, which may promote recovery.

Diabetic Foot Ulcers Exudate

When researchers examined wound exudate (the fluid excreted at the site of an injury), they identified metformin in individuals who took the drug orally, which no one had ever mentioned.

Researchers discovered a considerable rise in metformin detected in wounds among people who use both insulin injections and oral metformin. Previously, researchers believed that insulin and metformin did not interact.

Pharmacological research has not yet revealed any interactions between insulin and metformin. The results of the study suggest that ingesting both insulin and metformin may play a role, yet a minor one, in that metformin, may end up in a part of the body that is injured and improves healing.

The findings may influence how clinicians approach treating persistent wounds. The combined effects of metformin and insulin, for instance, may be beneficial if a patient sustains a wound.

Wound dressing developers must also examine how everything they put on top of wounds will interact with exudates. Exudates have the potential to interact with wound dressings, thereby compromising both their safety and therapeutic effectiveness.

Reference:

1. Millions of people with diabetic foot ulcers could benefit from new research discovery- (https:humanmedicine.msu.edu/news/2024-millions-of-people-with-diabetic-foot-ulcers-could-benefit-from-new-research-discovery.html)

Source-Eurekalert