Treating osteoarthritis with antidepressants

Scientists have shown that antidepressant paroxetine may be useful in osteoarthritis...
23 February 2021
Presented by Katie Haylor

OSTEOARTHRITIS

a cartoon of an osteoarthritic knee

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Osteoarthritis is a painful condition caused by wear and tear to the slippery cartilage that normally coats and lubricates the bone surfaces in our joints. This doesn’t repair itself very well, so, when it wears out, joint replacement is usually the only option. But recently, scientists out of Penn State University in the US have shown that the antidepressant drug paroxetine has an interesting side-effect: it encourages the cells that make and build cartilage to grow. So, perhaps, in the future we’ll be able to pop a pill, rather than have a hip replacement. Fadia Kamal told Katie Haylor what they’ve found...

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