(Master talk) Glucosamine and chondroitin don't slow arthritis

[Guest guest]

The following article may be of interest to many Masters since arthritis is one

of the major factors in curtailing training.

Ralph Giarnella MD

Southington Ct USA

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Study: Popular supplements ineffective against arthritis

By Weise, USA TODAY

(The study, funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative

Medicine at the National Institutes of Health,)

A two-year study of how well glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate slow cartilage

loss in arthritis patients could not show that the popular nutritional

supplements work any better than sugar pills.

" We don't have good evidence that it slows (disease) progression, " says

rheumatologist Sawitzke, professor of internal medicine at the University

of Utah and lead investigator.

A two-year study of how well glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate slow cartilage

loss in arthritis patients could not show that the popular nutritional

supplements work any better than sugar pills.

The results were published on the website of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.

The combination glucosamine chondroitin is the sixth-top-selling dietary

supplement in the USA. It had annual sales of $831 million in 2007, the

Nutrition Business Journal says.

The study is a follow-up to a large 2006 study funded by the National Institutes

of Health that examined whether the supplements did a better job than sugar

pills or the arthritis pain medication Celebrex in diminishing pain in

osteoarthritis patients. Overall, it found they didn't.

The second study continued to give patients the supplements, sugar pills or

Celebrex and measured whether the space between their knee joints decreased, a

measure of whether the cartilage was breaking down.

The two-year study, which was conducted at nine sites, didn't show that anything

worked better than the placebo to slow the disease.

Sawitzke acknowledges some problems with the study. More patients and a better

method for measuring the distance between the bones would have helped. He says

he'd like to see another study done. " I'm most worried about throwing out

something that may possibly be a benefit. "

Roy Altman, a professor of medicine at the University of California-Los Angeles,

says the study " leaves us in limbo without answers. "

He still encourages patients to try glucosamine sulfate, although he's less

impressed with chondroitin sulfate.

Greg Gardner, a rheumatologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, says

the news is disappointing.

He has told patients to at least try the supplements if they want to, because

the pills are cheap and safe. But now, he says, " I probably won't tout it any

more as potentially disease-modifying. "