December 2, 2005 – The results of a major clinical trial suggest that glucosamine and chondroitin would have no more effects than a placebo. But, at the same time, the researchers specify that these supplements would relieve the pain associated with osteoarthritis, at least in the heaviest cases.
The test in question1, which involved nearly 1,600 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee, was sponsored by the United States National Institutes of Health. For six months, subjects took either a placebo or one of the following treatments each day: glucosamine (1500 mg) and chondroitin sulfate (1200 mg) in combination or celecoxib 200 mg per dose. day. Each participant had access, as needed, to 4000 mg per day of acetaminophen as a reliever pain reliever.
Researchers report that celecoxib, known by the brand name Celebrex®, has been shown to be effective while, overall, the supplements did not have any more marked effects than those of the placebo. However, the association of glucosamine with chondroitin made it possible, according to them, to relieve pain in certain patients with osteoarthritis, that is to say those who suffered from moderate or severe pain. It seems that, for reasons that researchers cannot explain, these supplements are less effective for the treatment of benign osteoarthritis.
The number of subjects with mild osteoarthritis was relatively large in this double-blind trial. This explains why the results do not show that glucosamine and chondroitin have a significant effectiveness for all the participants.
According to Dr Daniel Clegg, who led the research team, these results indicate that glucosamine and chondroitin in combination may be an alternative to medication for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee, suffering from moderate or severe pain. This opinion has all the more weight that the researcher is associated with the pharmaceutical Pfiezer, manufacturer of Celebrex. He cannot therefore be suspected of having a bias in favor of glucosamine and chondroitin.
Although the results have not yet been published in a medical journal, they were recently the subject of a presentation at an American College of Rheumatology conference in California.
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
According to Arthritis Today and MedPage Today.
1. Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate may be useful for patients with moderate to severe pain from knee osteoarthritis, press release, American College of Rheumatology, 2005. [Consulté le 27 novembre 2005]. www.rheumatology.org