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A new research published in the journal
Arthritis and Rheumatism shows that glucosamine and chondroitin, two dietary
supplements prescribed for people suffering osteoarthritis, are no better that placebo
in slowing the cartilage loss in the knees.
The large study led by University of Utah
doctors is a follow-up to a 2006 study that compared the benefits of dietary
supplements with those of sugar pills or the arthritis pain medication Celebrex
in relieving pain in osteoarthritis sufferers. The original study, funded by the
National Institutes of Health, found no pain relief benefit over placebo,
except in a subset of subjects with moderate to severe osteoarthritis knee pain;
these patients got a significant pain relief with a combination of the two
supplements.
For the second study, researchers continued
to give patients the popular supplements, sugar pills or Celebrex and measured
whether the space between their knee joints decreased. The study, which
followed 572 volunteers for another 18 months after the first study, found the
supplements did not appear to slow the loss of cartilage, taken either alone or
together. The results were better only for a smaller subgroup of participants
with moderate-to-severe pain. For them, the combination of
glucosamine/chondroitin showed some pain relief. The researchers performed
X-rays of the ailing joint at the beginning and at the end of the trial. The
X-rays showed no differences in the treatment groups.
Dr. Allen Sawitzke of the University of
Utah School of Medicine, who helped lead the study and colleagues said some of
their findings were confusing and added that more study was needed. The researchers
said that more patients and a better method for measuring the distance between
the bones would have helped. Scientists say they had trouble interpreting their
results because the damage occurred much more slower than they had expected. Dr. Allen D. Sawitzke said he would neither
encourage nor discourage patients from taking the supplements.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, about 20 percent of all Americans have been diagnosed
with arthritis. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis; it
commonly affects the hips, feet, spine, and the large weight bearing joints,
such as the hips and knees. As OA progresses, the affected joints appear
larger, are stiff and painful, and usually feel worse, the more they are used
throughout the day. As the bone surfaces become less well protected by
cartilage, the patient experiences pain upon weight bearing, including walking
and standing. About 21 million Americans suffer from pain and stiffness of
osteoarthritis, according to the most recent figures. Osteoarthritis is the result
of several factors including age, genetics, weight, joint injuries and gender.
A previous study conducted by researchers
at the Erasmus Medical
Center in Rotterdam,
the Netherlands,
that followed 222 patients with hip osteoarthritis for two years, found no
significant difference between glucosamine and placebo group in treating mild
to moderate hip arthritis. The glucosamine treatment did not seem to be an
effective treatment for patients with hip osteoarthritis and the differences
between the glucosamine and placebo group were very small.
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