subject: Researchers Claim Arthritis Supplements Have No Effect [print this page] Researchers Claim Arthritis Supplements Have No Effect
Doctors should be discouraged from prescribing two popular supplements, glucosamine and chondroitin, for osteoarthritic hips and knees, which is found from the research works of Prof.Peter Juni and his colleagues at the University of Bern, in Switzerland.
According to a study conducted by Swiss scientists, two supplements taken by millions of people around the globe for joint pain do not work and health authorities or insurers should not pay for the drugs.
The supplements, glucosamine and chondroitin, are either taken on their own or in combination to help reduce the pain that is caused by osteoarthritis in the hips and knees.
However, Swiss researchers found that there was "no clinically relevant effect" of chondroitin or glucosamine on joint pain.
The Swiss study involved 3,803 patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis.
"Health authorities and health insurers should not cover the costs for these preparations, and new prescriptions to patients who have not received treatment should be discouraged," Prof. Peter Juni, Head of the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Bern in Switzerland, and his colleagues, whose study was published in the British Medical Journal on Friday 18,2010- reported Reuters.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and is one of the leading causes of chronic disability in the U.S. The disease affects about eight million people in Britain and about 27 million in the U.S.
It is a chronic condition that is treated with painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen. Some of these drugs can cause stomach and heart problems, particularly if they are used for long periods.
According to the researchers, doctors and specialists have increasingly prescribed glucosamine and chondroitin to their patients in the past decade.
Their research said that in 2008, global sales of glucosamine supplements reached almost $2 billion.
The team reviewed 10 previously published trials and assessed the data on changes in levels of pain after patients took glucosamine, chondroitin, or a combination.
"Compared with placebo, glucosamine, chondroitin, and their combination do not reduce joint pain or have an impact on narrowing of joint space," they wrote.
The team said that despite their findings, some patients remained convinced that the supplements work.
Clinical trials of glucosamine and chondroitin - either taken together or separately -have failed to demonstrate a clinically significant benefit for patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis, a meta-analysis found.
Pooled data from 10 placebo-controlled trials of the popular supplements that included more than 3,000 patients indicated there were statistically significant -- but clinically meaningless -- improvements in patients' reports of joint pain, according to Peter Jni, MD, of the University of Bern in Switzerland, and colleagues online in BMJ.
The more objective measurement of joint space narrowing also was not significantly improved with glucosamine or chondroitin, the researchers found.
Moreover, when benefits were found, they tended to be in industry-funded trials as opposed to those without commercial sponsorship, Jni and colleagues indicated.
"Our findings indicate that glucosamine, chondroitin, and their combination do not result in a relevant reduction of joint pain nor affect joint space narrowing compared with placebo," they concluded.
On the other hand, they found no evidence that the supplements had any adverse effects.
"We see no harm in having patients continue these preparations as long as they perceive a benefit and cover the costs of treatment themselves," Jni and colleagues wrote, as long as the supplements don't take the place of remedies with demonstrable benefit.
Researchers Claim Arthritis Supplements Have No Effect
