Glucosamine, chondroitin, and other dietary supplements are safe and may offer some pain relief to patients with moderate-to-severe arthritis, but they have little effect on the symptoms of knee arthritis in general, according to a recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Researchers involved in the Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Prevention Trial (GAIT) studied 1,583 patients with knee pain over 6 months. The patients were randomly assigned to receive one of the following three times daily: 500 mg of glucosamine, 400 mg of chondroitin, a combination of both products, celecoxib (Celebrex), or an inactive placebo.
The results? The supplements, taken alone or combined, worked no better than placebo in relieving pain, stiffness, and swelling; only celecoxib was associated with measurable pain relief. Among the 22% of patients with moderate-to-severe pain, however, glucosamine and chondroitin provided somewhat greater pain relief than placebo-but the study's authors believe that the subgroup size wasn't sufficiently large enough to prove that taking the supplements brings significant benefits.
Lead GAIT researcher Daniel O. Clegg said that combining glucosamine sulfate with chondroitin sulfate may have an "additive" effect, and that patients can safely take them. However, he advises discontinuing the supplements if no clinically significant decrease in symptoms occurs after 3 months. LPN
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