Glucosamine sulphate - latest on UK trial
Long awaited results of a trial into the food supplement glucosamine sulphate have shown that it is no more effective in controlling pain than placebo.
But the doctor who led the trial says his study supports a role for glucosamine in pain control for mild to moderate OA, and that further studies aimed at this group should be planned. A larger clinical trial is currently under way in the US.
Dr Rod Hughes, a rheumatologist at St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey, who ran a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial on 80 OA patients for six months during 1999, has still not published the results.
But he told a press conference that while no undesired side effects were reported with glucosamine, initial analysis revealed no differences in pain control between those receiving glucosamine and those taking placebo.
"However, further analysis in sub-groups according to the degree of pain suffered before the start of the study showed that those with knee OA and mild to moderate pain benefited from glucosamine, while those with severe pain did not," said Dr Hughes.
In his clinical practice, Dr Hughes suggests that patients with OA try 1500mg of glucosamine sulphate daily for an initial six months. No harm will be done, and the benefits of pain control and possible protection against the progression of OA may result. Until the results of larger trials, it will not be known whether the supplement also acts as a chondroprotective agent, ie whether it can slow down the degenerative process.
