The New York Times declared, in February 2006, that two top-selling arthritis drugs were found to be ineffective. The fact is that the drugs that are mentioned in the articles are not actually drugs at all, but instead, two popular nutritional supplements that are used by millions of people successfully worldwide. This piece of information alone reduces the quality of investigative journalism that actually went into producing this article. Other newspapers also picked up this story and used the story lines that glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate were nothing better than placebos in their efforts to relieve knee pain that is associated with osteoarthritis. However, the findings that were published in the New England Journal of Medicine provided an extremely different view.
The trial that produced these articles was the largest-ever clinical study on glucosamine and chondroitin, using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention trial of 1583 patients who were experiencing symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee. The main outcome was a 20% reduction in knee pain over a period of twenty-four weeks. This study was expected to be the definitive word on the effectiveness of glucosamine and chondroitin in reducing the pain of osteoarthritis. However, a combination of poor experimental design and misrepresentation of the media only clouded the findings and increased the controversy.
The study experienced an extraordinarily high placebo effect of over sixty percent, basically destroying the ability of the trial to detect a valid change. The fact was that six in ten patients in the placebo group found significant pain relief simply in a dummy pill. A possible reason for this was that there was free use of pain relievers allowed during the trial. Even though acetaminophen enhances the efficacy of osteoarthritis treatment, researchers still allowed patients to take up to 4,000 mg daily. This also decreased the chance of finding significant differences between the intervention and comparison groups. Additionally, the form of glucosamine that was used in the study was not the form of glucosamine that contains sulphate moiety, which is only found in glucosamine sulphate. Glucosamine sulphate is believed to amplify analgesic properties.
Even with these limitations, the study found that those individuals who experienced moderate-to-severe knee pain were able to experience 25-26% improvement in pain relief with the use of glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate. Despite what reports stated, the study actually showed that those patients who needed pain relief the most, individuals with moderate-to-severe pain, were unable to get pain relief through the use of prescription drugs. However, they were able to experience pain relief through the combination of glucosamine and chondroitin.
It seems as if the media took a negative spin from an editorial appearing in the same edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, which happened to be critical of the use of glucosamine and chondroitin. It should also be noted that the author of the critique is an individual who received financial compensation from the pharmaceutical company that produces some of the prescription drugs for arthritis pain relief. What is interesting is that a number of the authors of the above study also received compensation from the same pharmaceutical company, along with the pharmaceutical company that produces the acetaminophen that was allowed in the study.
Unbiased reporting is needed when documenting the effectiveness of vitamin supplements like glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate. Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate is available at your local or internet health food store in capsule or tablet forms. Always look for name brands to ensure quality and purity of the product you purchase.
*Statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Glucosamine and chondroitin are not intended to diagnose, treat and cure or prevent disease. Always consult with your professional health care provider before changing any medication or adding Vitamins to medications.
