Mayo Clinic Study Reverses Current Thought on Treatment of Cirrhosis

Xiaodan Zhang, D.D.S., a gastroenterology research fellow at Mayo Clinic, discusses a new study reversing current thought on the treatment of cirrhotic patients with type 2 diabetes. The study found that the continuation of metformin after a cirrhosis diagnosis improved survival rates among diabetes patients. Metformin is usually discontinued once cirrhosis is diagnosed because of concerns about an increased risk of adverse effects associated with this treatment in patients with liver impairment. The Mayo Clinic study was recently published in Hepatology.