Glucosamine and Chondroitin for Arthritis Pain Relief

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Posted By Sanj on March 30, 2010 at 9:45 pm

Dietary Outcomes in Osteoarthritis Disease Management:

Glucosamine is an aminomonosaccharide, a component of almost all human tissues, including cartilage. It is the principle component of O- and N-linked glycosaminoglycans, which form the matrix of all connective tissues. Glucosamine sulfate has a relatively low molecular weight and is the sulfate salt of the natural aminomonosaccharide, glucosamine. Glucosamine is commercially available in pharmacies, health food stores, and retail stores and is sold via the Internet. It is most commonly available as the sulfate, HCl, N-acetyl or chlorhydrate salt isomers, which are water-soluble (10). The sulfate and HCl forms differ in their purity, sodium content, bioactive glucosamine, and equivalent dosages. Unlike glucosamine sulfate and HCl forms that are most commonly used in clinical trials, glucosamine does not have active intestinal transport. In some preparations, glucosamine is combined with chondroitin sulfate.

Glucosamine sulfate provides pain relief and improved function in knee OA (11). In a recent 3-year, randomized, placebo-controlled, prospective study by Bruyere et al, 212 patients with knee OA were evaluated to determine the effect of glucosamine and chondroitin on symptom and structure modification in knee OA (12). In patients who had mild OA and were in the highest quartile of baseline mean joint space narrowing, glucosamine was associated with a trend (p=0.10) towards a significant reduction in joint space narrowing (13). The authors reported indistinguishable symptomatic efficacies for both compounds as indicated by two 3-year, double-blinded, controlled studies (14,15).
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