For more than three decades, glucosamine has been marketed as a way to relieve painful joints.
But a new study suggests the popular supplement also might be linked to faster progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers at the University of Florida found that people with mild cognitive impairment who reported taking glucosamine stood a 25% greater chance of progressing to dementia than those who did not use it.
The researchers also uncovered evidence suggesting that glucosamine may interact with biological processes in the brain that are already disrupted in Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers reached their conclusion after analyzing a raft of patient health records combined with advanced imaging studies of human brain tissue and mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease.
While the results do not prove that glucosamine causes dementia and will need to be confirmed in clinical trials, the researchers say the work adds to growing evidence that metabolic dysfunction plays an important role in neurodegenerative diseases.
One estimate from the National Institutes of Health said that at least 6.5. million adults, or 2.6% of the U.S. population, had used glucosamine or chondroitin [kuhn-droy-tin] for joint pain.
Researchers identified evidence that a protein and sugar pathway is excessively active in Alzheimer’s disease. They suggested the pathway could represent a new target for future treatments.
Correlation is not causation, but the study’s findings do offer those with creaky joints a topic to bring up the next time you sit down with your doctor.