Metformin:APotentialTreatmentforOsteoarthritis

BackgroundA is a chronic and degenerative joint disease that predominantly affects middleaged and elderly individuals, leading to pain, stiffness, joint dysfunction, and limited mobility that increases with advancing age.The pathogenesis of the disease involves degeneration of the articular cartilage, formation of bony redundancies, and reactive subchondral bone proliferation.The prevalence of OA is projected to significantly increase in the coming years, AbstractRecently, Metformin, a widely used oral hypoglycemic agent for type 2 diabetes mellitus, has emerged as a potential treatment for Osteoarthritis.Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic, degenerative joint disease primarily affecting adults.It presents symptoms such as joint tenderness, stiffness, and limited mobility.Metformin has been found to inhibit chondrocyte apoptosis through various mechanisms, including total knee suppression of β-catenin signaling in chondrocytes, stimulation of AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase), and autophagy marker expression (LC3).Metformin can down-regulate microRNA34a expression while upregulating silent information regulator protein-1 (SIRT1) levels, preventing chondrocyte apoptosis.Promising results from studies on mice and small-scale human trials show its potential to reduce the medial cartilage volume loss rate, lower the likelihood of total knee replacement (TKR), and improve pain when used as an adjuvant therapy with NSAIDs.Hence, large-scale human trials are necessary to establish Metformin as a potential treatment for OA.