Cleveland Clinic researchers found metformin, a common diabetes medication, could treat atrial fibrillation.
The study, published Oct. 11 in Cell Reports Medicine, analyzed metformin on a genetic level. It found the drug targeted 30 genes associated with afib, with direct effects on gene expression for eight.
"Finding drugs or procedures to treat atrial fibrillation is difficult because of potential serious side effects," Mina Chung, MD, a senior author on the study, said in an Oct. 11 release from Cleveland Clinic. "There is a significant need for new treatments for atrial fibrillation as there have been no new drugs approved in more than a decade."