ArticleArthritis research & therapy2020
Exploration of metformin as novel therapy for osteoarthritis: preventing cartilage degeneration and reducing pain behavior.
Article in Arthritis research & therapy, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 87 citations in OpenAlex.
- Metformin for knee osteoarthritis in overweight and obese adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of efficacy, safety, and disease-modifying anti-inflammatory potential.Inflammopharmacology · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of metformin phonophoresis and exercise therapy on pain, range of motion, and physical function in chronic knee osteoarthritis: randomized clinical trial.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2024Trial
- The impact of metformin use on the outcomes of locally advanced breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy: an open-labelled randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Association of metformin with osteoarthritis progression and total joint arthroplasty: evidence from the UK Biobank, a large population-based cohort study.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Article
- Exploring mitochondrial functions and dysfunctions in chondrocytes: toward the identification of novel therapies for osteoarthritis.Bone research · 2026Review
- Exploring the therapeutic applications of metformin in articular cartilage repair: mechanistic insights and translational perspectives.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- A Review of Rodent Behavior, Mobility, and Pain Modifications in Response to Destabilization of the Medial Meniscus Injury.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Metformin does not decrease the incidence of shoulder arthroplasty in patients with glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis.JSES reviews, reports, and techniques · 2025Article
- Optimizing LED photobiomodulation parameters to prevent cartilage matrix degradation in knee osteoarthritis: in vitro and in vivo study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Article
- Article
- Update on metformin for osteoarthritis treatment.Inflammopharmacology · 2025Review
- Follow the Molecule from Crystal Arthropathy to Comorbidities: The 2024 G-CAN Gold Medal Award Awardee Lecture.Gout, urate, and crystal deposition disease · 2025Article
- Gout incidence in metformin versus sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor users: a retrospective cohort study.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Patient Perceptions of Medication Therapy for Prevention of Posttraumatic Osteoarthritis Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury: A Qualitative Content Analysis.Arthritis care & research · 2025Article
- Targeting TREM-1 receptors with metformin and pravastatin modulate monosodium iodoacetate-induced osteoarthritis.Inflammopharmacology · 2025Article
- The PIKASO trial (Preventing Injured Knees from Osteoarthritis: Severity Outcomes): Rationale and design features for a randomized controlled trial.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2025Article
- Prospective Preference Assessment of a Pharmacological Clinical Trial to Alter the Progression of Posttraumatic Osteoarthritis After ACL Reconstruction.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2025Article
- Effect of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in osteoarthritis: A systematic review of pre-clinical and human studies.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2025Article
- Mechanistic insights into non-coding RNAs regulate autophagy in chondrocytes and their contribution to osteoarthritis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
- Metformin effects on plasma zonulin levels correlate with enhanced physical performance in osteoarthritis patients with diabetes.Inflammopharmacology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMetformin could activate adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) which was postulated as a potential therapeutic target for osteoarthritis. This study aimed to examine the effects of metformin on cartilage and pain in osteoarthritis mouse model.
methodsEighty 10-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomized to 6 groups: non-operation, sham-operation, destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM)-operation with intragastric saline/metformin, and DMM-operation with intraarticular saline/metformin. Articular cartilage degeneration was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and graded using the scoring system recommended by Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI). Mechanical withdrawal threshold and hind paw weight distribution were measured to assess the pain-related behavior. Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, quantificational real-time polymerase chain reaction, and western blot analysis were conducted to examine the anabolic and anti-catabolic effect of metformin and the role of AMPK in mediating its effects on interleukin-1β stimulated primary mice chondrocytes.
resultsCompared with mice receiving intragastric and intraarticular saline, mice in both intragastric and intraarticular metformin displayed attenuated articular cartilage degeneration, indicated by less cartilage damage under SEM and significantly lower OARSI scores. A higher paw withdrawal threshold and a decreased weight-bearing asymmetry were observed in the intragastric and intraarticular metformin mice compared with their corresponding saline groups in DMM model of osteoarthritis. In vitro experiments showed that metformin not only decreased the level of matrix metalloproteinase 13, but also elevated type II collagen production through activating AMPK pathway.
conclusionsMetformin attenuates osteoarthritis structural worsening and modulates pain, suggesting its potential for osteoarthritis prevention or treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.