Leicestershire farmer one of UK’s first in trial to treat aneurysms

A farmer is among the first people in the UK to join a trial which is testing whether a diabetes drug can treat a “deadly” form of aneurysm.

Philip Gosling, 80, joined the University of Leicester-led trial, which will attempt to discover if metformin – used to treat type 2 diabetes – can slow or prevent the growth of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA).

Mr Gosling was diagnosed with the condition following a scan of his abdomen.

However, his aneurysm was not yet big enough to operate on and without the trial he would not have been able to do anything but wait for it to grow to a dangerous size.

Mr Gosling, from Leicestershire, joined the trial in July after being referred to Prof Matt Brown, who is leading the UK’s branch of the trial.

He was told his AAA, a balloon-like swelling in the abdominal portion of the body’s main artery, was 1.57in (4cm) wide.

“I asked what I could do to stop it growing and that’s when they told me about the trial,” Mr Gosling said.

“It also means my condition is very closely monitored, which can only be a good thing. Hopefully it will help a lot of people like me in the future.”

The university said an AAA rarely caused symptoms unless it ruptured, but Mr Gosling has stopped doing certain things like lifting heavy objects while helping his son on the family farm.

During the first stage of the trial, he was given metformin in gradually larger doses over six weeks to check that he had no problems with the drug.

He then moved to the next phase, where he is taking either metformin or a placebo, and having regular check-ups on the growth of his AAA.

The trial is the largest ever of its kind for AAA and hopes to find the first drug treatment for the condition, which the university said was responsible for about 4,000 deaths a year in the UK.

The UK branch of the trial aims to recruit 1,000 patients over two years and is funded by a £1.2m grant from the British Heart Foundation.

The university said the risk of a rupture became “much higher” at 5.5cm and that slowing AAA growth could help patients avoid major surgery.

Prof Brown, of the university’s Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, said: “Evidence suggests metformin could be the treatment for AAA we’ve long been looking for.

“Research in the lab indicates it could be working to prevent AAA growth by blocking inflammation in the aorta, a key factor that causes AAA enlargement.

“This trial will involve people who can currently do nothing but wait for their aneurysm to grow to a dangerous size.”

The university said AAA growth was about 40% lower among patients taking metformin for type 2 diabetes and the drug had been shown to lead to a reduced rate of ruptures and surgical repairs.

The trial will test if this is also true for patients without diabetes by comparing the rupture and repair rates in the metformin and placebo groups, the university added.