Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease, in which joint cartilage breaks down over time along with changes in the bone and other joint tissues. It is a leading cause of chronic disability in older people.
Also called OA, degenerative joint disease.
It is the most common joint disease and the leading cause of chronic disability among older people, with chondrocyte death and matrix breakdown both involved (Miao 2022). A review describes it as a loss of balance in cartilage, when the chondrocytes' capacity to build matrix is overwhelmed by processes that break it down, with an age-related excess of reactive oxygen species as one contributor (Bolduc 2019).
Several glutathione-linked findings come from osteoarthritis research in human cells and tissue: lower Nrf2 in osteoarthritic chondrocytes (Taylor 2023), lower GPX4 in osteoarthritic cartilage (Miao 2022) and more hyperoxidised peroxiredoxins in osteoarthritic cartilage (Collins 2016).
In rats and mice, oral NAC, alpha-lipoic acid and dihydrolipoic acid each slowed experimental osteoarthritis (Kaneko 2019; Wang 2016; Chen 2026).
Sources
- Miao Y, Chen Y, Xue F et al. Contribution of ferroptosis and GPX4's dual functions to osteoarthritis progression. EBioMedicine 2022.
- Bolduc JA, Collins JA, Loeser RF. Reactive oxygen species, aging and articular cartilage homeostasis. Free Radic Biol Med 2019.
- Taylor EL, Collins JA, Gopalakrishnan P et al. Age and oxidative stress regulate Nrf2 homeostasis in human articular chondrocytes. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 2023.
- Collins JA, Wood ST, Nelson KJ et al. Oxidative Stress Promotes Peroxiredoxin Hyperoxidation and Attenuates Pro-survival Signaling in Aging Chondrocytes. J Biol Chem 2016.
- Kaneko Y, Tanigawa N, Sato Y et al. Oral administration of N-acetyl cysteine prevents osteoarthritis development and progression in a rat model. Sci Rep 2019.
- Wang J, Sun H, Fu Z et al. Chondroprotective effects of alpha-lipoic acid in a rat model of osteoarthritis. Free Radic Res 2016.
- Chen Y, Fang J, Zhou Z et al. Dihydrolipoic acid suppresses ferroptosis in chondrocytes to ameliorate the progression of osteoarthritis by modulating the FOXO1/TXNIP signaling pathway. Free Radic Biol Med 2026.
Related terms
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