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Osteoarthritis is the most common form of joint disease, a condition that causes joints to become painful and stiff. It can happen to any joint when the cartilage cushioning the ends of bones breaks down or wears away. Currently, there are no approved drugs to slow or stop the underlying disease. But there is a promising development from an unexpected quarter—a blood thinner.

Researchers led by Chuan-ju Liu from the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at Yale University School of Medicine screened a library of nearly 1,000 approved drugs for compounds that could suppress the inflammatory signals underlying osteoarthritis.

Although inflammation is normally part of the body's response to injury, persistent low-level inflammation in joints can contribute to the gradual breakdown of cartilage.

Of the 980 drugs tested, three stood out because they could suppress two key inflammatory signals involved in osteoarthritis. Further testing whittled them down to one: a medication called dabigatran, which is a blood thinner used to prevent clots and strokes.

To see what effect dabigatran might have on osteoarthritic joints, the researchers tested it on mice and macaques with surgically induced osteoarthritis. The drug was injected directly into the mice's affected joints, while the macaques received it orally.

The results, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, were encouraging.

In mice, dabigatran reduced cartilage damage and signs of joint inflammation.

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