Metformin ameliorates diabetes mellitus in Kurds patients by attenuation of serum cortisol and copper levels

الملخص EN

Metformin is one of the most commonly prescribed antihyperglycemic agent for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

However, details of exact mechanism of metformin action are not clear.

The study aims to determine the roles and effects of metformin on serum cortisol, copper, and zinc levels in T2DM subjects.

Venous blood samples from control and T2DM subjects were collected.

The serum was separated from blood samples before concentration determination using ELISA.

Quantification was done using a spectrophotometer.

The present study revealed that serum levels of cortisol and copper in T2DM subjects were higher than that of control subjects whereas the serum level of zinc was lower.

After 12 weeks of treatment with metformin, serum copper levels in T2DM subjects decreased significantly, while non-significant changes were recorded with respect to zinc and cortisol levels.

In conclusions, the results suggested that metformin significantly changed the levels of serum cortisol in patients with T2DM, while it increased serum copper levels.

On the other hands we found that there is a weak correlation between serum cortisol levels with serum copper and zinc levels.