Joint-Pain Supplement Tied to Faster Alzheimer's Progression

A supplement that many older Americans swallow for their knees may not be so benign for their brains. University of Florida researchers report that glucosamine use was linked to a greater shift from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease in a large review of patient records, reports the Conversation. Using AI to sift through UF Health data from 2012 to 2024, the team found about 8% of patients with either Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment reported taking glucosamine, per a release. After adjusting for age, sex, and demographics, it was found that using glucosamine was tied to a 25% greater risk of mild cognitive impairment advancing to dementia.

Among those already diagnosed with Alzheimer's or related dementias, glucosamine use was also tied to a 25% higher risk of death over time. The study, published in Nature Metabolism, doesn't prove that glucosamine, which many take for joint pain and arthritis, causes the decline, but it's backed by mouse experiments and brain-tissue analyses suggesting the supplement feeds into an overactive "sugar-tagging" process on proteins seen in Alzheimer's. That metabolic pathway, the authors say, could be a new treatment target—but they stress that the findings need confirmation in clinical trials before changing medical guidance.