NSAIDs May Elevate Risk of Heart Failure in Diabetic Patients

PainRelief.com Interview with:
Dr Anders Holt
Department of Cardiology
Copenhagen University Hospital–Herlev and Gentofte
Hellerup, Denmark

PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Type 2 diabetes mellitus has been related to cardiomyopathy and subclinical heart failure, as well as compromised kidney function. Likewise, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can cause fluid retention and have been previously linked to heart disease. Thus, use of NSAIDs in patients with T2DM could be expected to increase risk of heart failure (HF), possibly by worsening already prevalent subclinical HF or by aberrating fluid balances. Specific recommendations for short-term use in patients with T2DM, along with exploration of proposed mechanisms, are scarce, especially considering that NSAIDs are among the most used prescription and over-the-counter drugs worldwide.

CMAJ Study Finds Metformin Associated with Reduced Risk of Joint Replacement in Diabetic Patients

PainRelief.com Interview with:
Zhaohua Zhu (Alex)
PhD, Associated Professor
Clinical Research Center
Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University

PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?

Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of pain and disability in older adults, but there are no effective drugs in preventing or reversing osteoarthritis progression.

•Metformin is the first-line pharmacologic treatment and the most commonly prescribed drug worldwide for diabetes mellitus.

•Recent experimental studies have showed that both intragastric and intraarticular metformin use can attenuate cartilage degradation and modulated pain in osteoarthritis mouse models. However, it is unclear whether metformin use is associated with reduced risk of total joint replacement in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.