Baseline gut microbiome composition predicts metformin therapy short-term efficacy in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients

BackgroundThe study was conducted to investigate the effects of metformin treatment on the human gut microbiome's taxonomic and functional profile in the Latvian population, and to evaluate the correlation of these changes with therapeutic efficacy and tolerance.MethodsIn this longitudinal observational study, stool samples for shotgun metagenomic sequencing-based analysis were collected in two cohorts. The first cohort included 35 healthy nondiabetic individuals (metformin dose 2x850mg/day) at three time-points during metformin administration. The second cohort was composed of 50 newly-diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients (metformin dose-determined by an endocrinologist) at two concordant ti…