Glucosamine Doesn't Work, Study Finds
Popular arthritis treatment has no apparent effect
|
|
|
|
February 20, 2008 People in middle to old age have long taken the dietary
supplement in the belief it would ease pain and
inflammation in joints. Dr. Rianne M. Rozendaal at the Erasmus Medical Center
in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, headed the research team that concluded the
supplement was mostly ineffective as a means to treat hip pain. The study followed more than 200 patients for two years. All were
suffering osteoarthritis of the hip. Half the people in the study
took 1,500 milligrames of Glucosamine once a day, the others took placebo. The researchers said glucosamine sulfate had no apparent effect on hip
arthritis. Those with very mild arthritis noted some slight improvement when
taking the glucosamine, but the improvement was very small. "The differences between the glucosamine and placebo group were all
very small. For these patients with hip osteoarthritis,
glucosaminei sulfate does not seem to be an effective treatment on the basis
of our results," the authors wrote. Glucosamine is a natural compound that is found in healthy cartilage.
Glucosamine sulfate is a normal constituent of glycoaminoglycans in cartilage
matrix and synovial fluid, according to the Mayo Clinic. Writing before the current research was public, cllinic scientists said
available evidence from randomized controlled trials supports the use of the
supplement in the treatment of osteoarthritis, particularly of the knee.
Doctors widely prescribe it for patients hoping to slow or prevent cartilage
loss. The new research did not address glucosamine sulfate's effectiveness in
any joint other than the hip. Twenty percent of the U.S. population has been diagnosed with arthritis,
according to the Centers
for Disease Control,
and that number is expected to rise as the Baby Boomers enter old age. |