Alzheimer’s risk linked to compound found in popular joint health supplements

Glucosamine is concentrated in cartilage, the connective tissue that cushions joints, and is a component of larger molecules that help give cartilage its strength, elasticity and ability to retain water.(iStock)

In the study, researchers analyzed thousands ofpatients with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, as well as those with mild cognitive impairment, and then narrowed the group to those who were taking glucosamine.

For those with mild cognitive impairment, taking the supplement didn’t change their risk of death, but it did make them 25% more likely to progress to dementia.However, among individuals who already had dementia, glucosamine users had a higher mortality compared to similar non-users.

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The researchers also examined brain tissue to understand what might be driving the association.“We found an excess of sugar chains on proteins in the Alzheimer’s brain,” Sun said.

Many of those proteins help nerve cells communicate, but the excess sugar chains may interfere with how they function, Sun said.He compared the effect to coating a key in too much wax — it is still the same key, but no longer fits the lock properly.

“A brain affected by dementia and a healthy brain are different biological environments, and we shouldn’t assume a supplement behaves the same way in both.”

Glucosamine is one of the materials cells use to make these sugar chains, according to Sun.

Researchers also tracked how glucosamine was processed in mice, comparing its effects onhealthy brainswith those affected by Alzheimer’s-like disease.

“In our experiments, normal mice given glucosamine showed no increase in these sugar chains and no change in a memory test,” Sun said.

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“But in mice with Alzheimer’s-like disease, where the production line was already running too hot, glucosamine increased the sugar chains further and worsened performance on a memory test.”

Study limitations

The researchers relied on medical records, which may not capture every supplement a patient was taking.

“Health recordstell us what was documented, not everything a person took,” Sun said.“Over-the-counter supplements are not always recorded, and records don’t reliably capture dose, brand or how consistently someone took it.”

Researchers analyzed thousands of patients with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, as well as those with mild cognitive impairment, and then narrowed the group to those who were taking glucosamine.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

An observational study looking at past records can find a signal, but can’t prove one.

Glucosamine users may also differ in factors such asarthritis, pain, mobility, frailty and medication use, Levin noted.The records also did not establish the exact supplement, dose, duration or consistency of use.

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“The finding should therefore be treated as a safety signal that warrants controlled human research, but it did not — could not — reach a conclusion that glucosamine causes Alzheimer’s disease,” Levin said.

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The next step is a well-designed, double-blind clinical trial to evaluate the impact of glucosamine oncognitive declinein patients with dementia.

The study did not examine cognitively healthy people and does not suggest glucosamine poses a risk to those who take it for joint health.(iStock)

“For now, the evidence isn’t strong enough to recommend any supplement for slowing [Alzheimer’s] disease, which is why doing this research properly, including the clinical trial we’ve called for, matters,” Sun said.

The study did not examine cognitively healthy people and does not suggest that glucosamine poses a risk to those who take it for joint health.

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“A brain affected by dementia and a healthy brain are different biological environments, and we shouldn’t assume a supplement behaves the same way in both,” Sun said.

He emphasized the importance ofconsulting with a doctorbefore starting or stopping a supplement.

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“If you or a family member has a diagnosis of cognitive impairment or dementia and takes glucosamine, it’s reasonable to bring it up at the next visit, as part of an ordinary conversation about what’s in the medicine cabinet,” the doctor advised.