Approved Research

The potential therapeutic effects of metformin in osteoarthritis

Lay summary

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, affecting more than 500 million of people worldwide. It is an aged related and degenerative disease that worsens over time, and results in chronic pain. Joint pain and stiffness caused by OA can become severe enough to make daily tasks difficult, leading to disability. However, there is no effective drug in treating OA by far. Metformin, which is a common drug used for diabetes, has been proven that it could potentially be used to treat OA. However, without clinical data, we never know whether metformin can treat OA or not. We conduct this study to see the treatment effect of metformin on OA. This project will last for two to three years based on the analysis of UK biobank data. It will find out the treatment effect of metformin and could possibly to be used in OA treatment in the future after clinical trials. Eventually, this study will reduce our public health burden on OA treatment.