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Osteoarthritis is a common chronic condition that usually causes joint pain and can be severe enough to require knee and hip replacements. In the United States, the number of total knee replacement (TKR) and total hip replacement (THR) surgeries is estimated to reach 572 000 per year by 2030. No medications are currently known to prevent or reverse osteoarthritis. A team of researchers from China, Taiwan and Australia aimed to determine whether metformin use was associated with a lower risk of TKR or THR as evidence to date has been sparse and inconclusive. They analyzed data from 69 706 participants...

Those who are habitually inclined to consume burgers, fries and soda may think twice about their dietary choices following scientists' latest findings about high-fat, high-fructose diets. A team discovered that a high-fat diet can increase fructose metabolism in the small intestine, leading to release of a fructose-specific metabolite called glycerate into circulation. Circulating glycerate can subsequently cause damage of the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells, increasing the risk of glucose tolerance disorders, such as Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Past research has shown that fructose produces deleterious effects in the liver. However, additional research has shown that these effects are normally...

Scientists have demonstrated normal brain aging is accelerated by approximately 26% in people with progressive type 2 diabetes compared to individuals without the disease. The authors evaluated the relationship between typical brain aging and that seen in type 2 diabetes, and observed that type 2 diabetes follows a similar pattern of neurodegeneration as aging, but one that progresses faster. One implication of this is that even typical brain aging may reflect changes in the brain's regulation of glucose by insulin. The results further suggest that by the time type 2 diabetes is formally diagnosed, there may already be significant structural...

A compound in avocados may ultimately offer a route to better leukemia treatment, says a new University of Guelph study. The compound targets an enzyme that scientists have identified for the first time as being critical to cancer cell growth, said Dr. Paul Spagnuolo, Department of Food Science. Published recently in the journal Blood, the study focused on acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is the most devastating form of leukemia. Most cases occur in people over age 65, and fewer than 10 per cent of patients survive five years after diagnosis. Leukemia cells have higher amounts of an enzyme called...