Farmer helping to combat potentially lethal condition

SCIENTISTS are assessing whether a cheap drug given to diabetes patients could be used to halt the progression of a potentially deadly condition.

- By STAFF REPORTER

A farmer from Leicestershire was the first person to be recruited to the UK arm of a trial which will assess whether metformin can help patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA).

An AAA is a balloon-like swelling of the aorta, the artery that carries blood from the heart to the abdomen.

Most aneurysms do not cause problems but there is a risk that large aneurysms could burst, which can be deadly. AAAs are responsible for 4,000 deaths in the UK each year.

Philip Gosling, 80, was told his AAA was too small for treatment.

When he asked what he could do to stop it growing, he was told about the new trial, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), which is assessing whether or not the diabetes drug metformin could halt the growth of AAAs.

He was the first to join the UK arm of the trial, which is being conducted by experts from the UK, Australia and New Zealand. “I’m glad to be on the trial,” he said.