Success For Natural Arthritis Treatment

29 December 2005

Two long-awaited clinical trials on glucosamine have found the shellfish-derived substance glucosamine significantly reduces arthritic joint pain, and may be better than a commonly used painkiller.

The Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial –GAIT- compared glucosamine/chondroitin and the prescription drug Celebrex.
The group taking glucosamine/chondroitin experienced greater relief of moderate-to-severe knee pain than the Celebrex group. Both Celebrex and the glucosamine-chondroitin combination significantly reduced knee pain compared to placebo.
Daily dosages were 1,500 milligrams of chondroitin hydrochloride and 1,200 milligrams of chondroitin sulfate, and 200 milligrams of Celebrex.

GAIT Results Revealed:

• The combination of glucosamine and chondroitin is better than placebo but the benefits seem to depend on severity of pain.


• In patients with moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis knee pain, 79.2% taking glucosamine/chondroitin combination experienced pain relief.
  


• For patients taking Celebrex, 69.4% experienced pain relief. (65.7% experienced relief taking glucosamine alone and 61.4 % taking chondroitin alone. 54.3% taking placebo reported pain relief.
  


• In patients with mild knee osteoarthritis pain, the glucosamine chondroitin combination was not significantly more effective than placebo.
  

Celebrex was among the NSAIDS (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) required to add a warning to its label because of potentially fatal side effects, including heart attacks and strokes.

Better Than Aspirin

A 24-month trial in Europe - GUIDE - reinforced the GAIT findings. In this case, glucosamine sulfate (a different form of glucosamine than that used in the U.S. study) was more effective in relieving osteoarthritis pain than acetaminophen, commonly known as aspirin.
Dosages were 1,500 milligrams once a day for glucosamine, and 1,000 milligrams three times daily for acetaminophen or a placebo.
"Based on these results, physicians who typically recommend acetaminophen may well find their patients gain more comfort taking glucosamine sulfate," said Dr. Gabriel Herrero-Beaumont, a Spanish physician who presented the findings recently to the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in San Diego, Calif.
In some arthritis patients, the supplements can be combined with prescription drugs, Vangsness said.
"If you have arthritis, I always have you take glucosamine and chondroitin," he said. "It is safe and relatively inexpensive (about $1 to $3 per day for recommended doses)."

Results from GUIDE (Glucosamine Unum In Die Efficacy) revealed:

• Both glucosamine sulfate and acetaminophen were more effective in reducing pain than placebo.


• Patients taking glucosamine sulfate exhibited more relief than patients on acetaminophen.
  


• It was concluded that once-daily 1500 mg oral doses of glucosamine sulfate may be the preferred treatment for knee osteoarthritis.

Both glucosamine and chrondoitin are found naturally in the body. Glucosamine is a form of amino sugar that is believed to play a role in cartilage formation and repair. Chondroitin sulfate is part of a large protein molecule that gives cartilage elasticity.
Used for many years in Europe, glucosamine and chondroitin became widely familiar to American consumers after publication in 1997 of Dr. Jason Theodosaki's best-selling The Arthritis Cure (St. Martin's Press, 2004).

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