Statins: A potential role in the management of osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease frequently encountered in rheumatologic and orthopaedic practice. It is a progressive disease that currently available pharmacological therapy can only control the symptoms of. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, the most preferred drug by patients, have significant side effects and the end stage treatment of osteoarthritis, in the form of joint replacement surgery, carries inherent risks to the patient. We review the potential role of statins, a drug class developed for and widely used in the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia. It is becoming clear that these drugs have more than just cholesterol lowering properties and we provide an up to date assessment of the work carried out to target osteoarthritis with these agents.