Diabetes drug metformin may help reduce osteoarthritis
Metformin, a diabetes drug that has been used for decades, could be added to the toolkit of treatments for osteoarthritis if it performs well in new trials.
Taken by millions of people to control blood sugar levels, metformin also seems to stimulate the release of an enzyme that protects cartilage against wear and tear, which eases inflammation and pain.
A previous study in Arthritis Research & Therapy found obese people with osteoarthritis who took metformin are 70% less likely to need knee replacement surgery than those not on the drug. Another in BMJ Open reveals that mice with early-stage osteoarthritis given metformin in drinking water every day for 12 weeks experienced less cartilage breakdown than mice who had only water.
In the new trial, people with osteoarthritis will be given either daily metformin plus celecoxib, a powerful anti-inflammatory painkiller, or a placebo tablet daily plus the painkiller. They will be monitored for three months to work out if taking the diabetes pill in addition to the painkiller affects pain, mobility and quality of life. Results are expected this year.
Prof Philip Conaghan from Leeds University comments that “it looks like there are some potential benefits from metformin in osteoarthritis but the evidence from existing animal and human studies is mixed”.
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