The dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, together or alone, appeared to fare no better than placebo in slowing loss of cartilage in osteoarthritis of the knee, researchers from the Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT) team report in the October issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.[1] Interpreting the study results is complicated, however, because participants taking placebo had a smaller loss of cartilage, or joint space width, than predicted. Loss of cartilage, the slippery material that cushions the joints, is a hallmark of osteoarthritis and its loss is typically measured as a reduction in joint space width—the distance between the ends of bones in a joint as seen on an X-ray.
Rather than slowing down the decay we really need ways to stop and reverse it. Some sort of stem cell therapy is the best bet. Gene therapy might end up helping but I expect benefits from stem cells sooner. Further out nanobots will do joint repair. I hope at least one of these becomes available before any of my joints start to ache.
Glucosamine might provide a small benefit. But if glucosamine does provide a benefit it is not so large that it shouts out.
Rheumatologist Allen D. Sawitzke, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine, was lead investigator. "At two years, no treatment achieved what was predefined to be a clinically important reduction in joint space width loss," Sawitzke said. "While we found a trend toward improvement among those with moderate osteoarthritis of the knee in those taking glucosamine, we were not able to draw any definitive conclusions."
A whole lot of people suffer pain from osteoarthritis. How many do you know that live with constant osteoarthritic pain?
More than 21 million Americans have osteoarthritis, with many taking glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, separately or in combination, to relieve pain.
Since most of us do not drink milk we should consider calcium supplements.
Boosting calcium intake by drinking milk could reduce healthy adults' chances of a debilitating bone break. In a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, healthy men and women supplemented with 1,200 mg of calcium per day - the amount in four glasses of milk - reduced their risk of bone fractures by 72 percent.
An international team of researchers from University Hospital Zurich and Dartmouth Medical School divided 930 healthy men and women ages 27 to 80 into two groups for a four-year intervention study. One group was given a placebo, while the other took a daily calcium supplement containing 1,200 mg of calcium daily - the calcium recommendation for adults over the age of 51.
The researchers found that those receiving an additional 1,200 mg of calcium were significantly less likely to have a bone fracture of any sort during the four-year period, including everyday activity fractures (bone breaks that occurred while walking or standing) and seemingly unavoidable accident-related fractures (bone breaks sustained during falls, running, sports injuries or car accidents). In fact, during the four-year intervention, not a single adult receiving calcium experienced a fracture tied to everyday activities - fractures that researchers call "potentially preventable" and more likely linked to bone health.
To sustain the benefits, researchers found that the adults needed to maintain their calcium intakes. After the four-year supplementation period ended, the bone benefits dissipated, underscoring the need to adopt lifelong habits, like drinking milk, to prevent bone loss.
Don't forget the vitamin D too.