Could a common diabetes drug help seniors with COPD?
NCT ID NCT07275359
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This early-stage study looks at whether metformin, a drug used for diabetes, is safe and tolerable for older adults (65+) with COPD who do not have diabetes. Researchers will also check if metformin changes blood markers linked to aging. The goal is to see if this approach is feasible for a larger future study.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 1
The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.
- Participants
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About 45 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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65 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age 65 and older * History of COPD defined by spirometry demonstrating FEV1/FVC \< 70% * 10 or more tobacco pack year history * History of frequent exacerbations defined as: 1 severe (i.e., COPD hospitalization) or 2 moderate (i.e., outpatient treated exacerbations) in the previous 12 months Exclusion Criteria: * Diabetes or actively being treated with metformin * Metformin allergy * History of lactic acidosis not explained by acute, severe illness * History of low vitamin B12 levels and unwilling to begin standard of care treatment for low vitamin B12 levels * Hepatic impairment defined as history of cirrhosis or abnormal liver function tests (e.g., alanine transaminase (ALT): 7-55 units per liter (U/L), aspartate transaminase (AST): 8-48 U/L, alkaline phosphatase (ALP): 40-129 U/L, or bilirubin: 0.1-1.2 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL)) * Renal impairment defined as eGFR \< 60 mL/min/1.73m2 * Cognitive impairment * Dementia * Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction \< 50% * Alcohol use disorder * Disability preventing in-person visits * Persons with an unstable medical condition (including but not limited to unstable angina, acute heart failure exacerbation, acute neurological symptoms) or COPD exacerbation within 30 days prior to enrollment will be excluded * Active treatment with Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors including but not limited to topiramate, zonisamide, acetazolamide, diclofenamide
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Duke Asthma, Allergy, and Airway Center
Durham, North Carolina, 27705, United States
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