Powerful Drug Combo Offers Potential Osteoarthritis Relief

Two may be better than one, at least when it comes to fighting arthritis. Recent research at the Salk Gene Expression Laboratory has found that a combination of two osteoarthritis drugs is better than either one alone. In fact, researchers say the medicinal cocktail actually reversed signs of the condition in rats.

Osteoarthritis, known as “wear and tear” arthritis, causes joint stiffness and pain. Over time, the cartilage that cushions bones breaks down and there is overgrowth on the underlying bones. So far, pain relievers and joint replacement surgery are about the only remedies offered for the 30 million U.S. adults who have this disease.

But that may change with the powerful one-two punch drug combo currently being studied for potential use in humans.

Scientists considered two drugs that singly offered some degree of success in treating osteoarthritis in animal studies. The first drug, known as αKLOTHO, keeps the mesh of molecules surrounding articular cartilage cells strong and healthy. The other, TGFβR2, stimulates growth in the cartilage cells themselves.

They wondered what might happen if the two were combined. Scientists conducted experiments on rats and isolated human cartilage cells in a laboratory setting, and found that the two drugs together reverse cellular and molecular symptoms of osteoarthritis.

“What’s really exciting is that this is potentially a therapy that can be translated to the clinic quite easily,” says Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, lead author and a professor at the Salk laboratory, in a news release.

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