Nutrition & Wellness – Biology 50

Glucosamine and Chondroitin No Better than Placebo for Osteoarthritis

October 1, 2008

On September 29, 2008 the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine released results from a study that had been conducted finding that “Dietary Supplements Glucosamine and/or Chondroitin Fare No Better than Placebo in Slowing Structural Damage of Knee Osteoarthritis.”

I thought that these findings are pretty interesting and timely considering that just last week my husband had been in to see the doctor, who recommended that he take Glucosamine for an old knee injury.

I had been advising him not to waste money on buying the supplements until we looked at what the research had to say about using the supplements.

In this new study rsearchers from the Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT) team reported that the dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, together or alone, appeared to fare no better than placebo in slowing loss of cartilage in osteoarthritis of the knee. Nine GAIT centers recruited patients for the study. Their results were published in the October issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

The study which was funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health confirms other findings showing the supplements have few or no effects.

My husband’s injury has been primary a ligament injury/ligament strain, rather than a joint problem, so wouldn’t have been a candidate for using the supplements to start with.

Sources:

NCCAM. September 29, 2008. Dietary Supplements Glucosamine and/or Chondroitin Fare No Better than Placebo in Slowing Structural Damage of Knee Osteoarthritis. NIH News, National Institutes of Health.

Reuters. September 29, 2008. Glucosamine and chondroitin don’t slow arthritis.

NCCAM. Questions and Answers: NIH Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial Primary Study. NIH.

NCCAM. Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT) Primary and Ancillary Study Results. NIH.

Sawitzke AD, Shi H, Finco MF, et al. The Effect of Glucosamine and/or Chondroitin Sulfate on the Progression of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Report from the Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 2008; 58(10):3183–3191.

Image Source:

Adam Ciesielski. Knee xray. Royaly Free Use.

Entry Filed under: Bio 50, Health, Herbs and Supplements, Nutrition, Nutrition News, Wellness. Tags: Alternative Treatments, benefits chondroitin, benefits clucosamine, Complementary Treatment, NCCAM, Osteoarthritis Treatments.