Dr. Tansey 
Dr. Tsalikian
Metformin is a first-line medication used to treat type 2 diabetes, where its main action is to improve insulin sensitivity and ultimately to decrease complication rates. In persons with type 1 diabetes, metformin alone is not effective treatment, because it can not replace the profound lack of insulin that occurs in this disease. However, some patients with type 1 diabetes, especially those who are obese, develop insulin resistance. Dr. Tansey and Dr. Tsalikian helped direct a recent study which found that 3 months of metformin treatment (in addition to insulin treatment) in these patients led to improvements in insulin sensitivity. Differing from type 2 diabetes however, hepatic insulin sensitivity was not improved. The results from this study are now published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.