Arthritis alert.Glucosamine glucosamine /glu·co·sa·mine/ (gloo-ko´sah-men) an amino derivative of glucose, occurring in glycosaminoglycans and a variety of complex polysaccharides such as blood group substances. and chondroitin chondroitin (k  n·droiˑ·tin),n , two supplements widely used to treat arthritis, appear to help, but only in people with moderate-to-severe knee pain. A new government-sponsored study randomly assigned more than 1,580 men and women with arthritis in their knees to take a daily dose of glucosamine (1,500 mg), chondroitin (1,200 mg), both, the prescription anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex (200 mg), or a placebo. Roughly four in five started the study with mild pain, while the rest had moderate-to-severe pain. After six months, roughly 60 percent of the placebo takers reported at least a 20 percent drop in pain. (Not bad for a placebo!) That wasn't significantly different from most of the other treatments. Roughly 65 percent of patients taking glucosamine, chondroitin, or both reported the same reduction in pain. Only Celebrex, which led to pain relief in 70 percent of the patients, was significantly different from the placebo. (Unfortunately, other studies have found that Celebrex doubles the risk of a heart attack.) However, when scientists looked only at people with moderate-to-severe knee pain, 79 percent of those taking glucosamine plus chondroitin reported pain relief. That was significantly higher than the 54 percent of placebo takers who reported relief. No other treatments worked, though Celebrex was close, with 69 percent reporting pain relief. What to do: The researchers will know more after analyzing X-rays of the patients' knees. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , it's worth trying glucosamine plus chondroitin if your arthritis pain is worse than mild. Other studies indicate that the glucosamine sulfate sulfate, chemical compound containing the sulfate (SO4) radical. Sulfates are salts or esters of sulfuric acid, H2SO4, formed by replacing one or both of the hydrogens with a metal (e.g., sodium) or a radical (e.g., ammonium or ethyl). that's found in most supplements works better than the glucosamine hydrochloride hydrochloride /hy·dro·chlo·ride/ (-klor´id) a salt of hydrochloric acid. hy·dro·chlo·ride n. A compound resulting from the reaction of hydrochloric acid with an organic base. that was used in this study. New England Journal of Medicine The New England Journal of Medicine (New Engl J Med or NEJM) is an English-language peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is one of the most popular and widely-read peer-reviewed general medical journals in the world. 354: 795, 2006. |
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