Short-term Metformin Protects Against Glucocorticoid-Induced Toxicity in Healthy Individuals: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Objective: Glucocorticoids (GCs) are potent anti-inflammatory drugs, but strategies to prevent side effects are lacking. We investigated whether metformin could prevent GC-related toxicity and explored the underlying mechanisms.

Research Design And Methods: This single-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover trial compared metformin with placebo during high-dose GC treatment in 18 lean, healthy, male study participants.

Food-induced cortisol secretion is comparable in lean and obese male subjects.

Objective: Hypercortisolism is a risk factor for obesity. Cortisol increases in response to food intake in lean subjects. In obese subjects, disturbances of the food-induced cortisol peak were reported, but data from sufficiently powered and well-controlled trials are lacking.