Glucosamine sulfate use&delay of progression of knee osteoarthritis

[JohnWxy]

PUB-MED: Glucosamine sulfate use and delay of progression of knee osteoarthritis: a 3-year, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study.

"CONCLUSION: Long-term treatment with glucosamine sulfate retarded the progression of knee osteoarthritis, possibly determining disease modification."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12374520&dopt=Citation

MOre info on Glucosamine Sulfate and Glucosamine Chondroiton (comercial site but seems like good info. You don't have to buy, just read)

http://www.jointhealing.com/pages/productpages/glucosamine.html

There are basically three forms of Glucosamine available today. These are:


Glucosamine Sulfate
Glucosamine Hydrochloride
Glucosamine NAS

Glucosamine Sulfate is the preferred form of Glucosamine available today due to its ability to easily travel from your gut into your joint. The other forms of Glucosamine have very limited or no evidence of their ability to be absorbed by your body and to help your body heal itself. This is known as bioavailabilty. Some of the other forms may be less expensive, however there is little or no scientific evidence that it works. Although Glucosamine Sulfate has the word sulfa, as it's root, it is not related to sulfa drugs, and if you have allergies to sulfa drugs you do not have to worry about ingesting this natural supplement.

How Does Glucosamine Sulfate Work?

Glucosamine Sulfate works by stimulating the production of a very important structure in your cartilage called the Glycosamine Glycans ( GAG). Your GAG acts as a nutrient base for the growth of your cartilage. Stimulating this complex will increase the production of your cartilage over time. This healing process is what reduces your pain.

How Long Do I need to Take Glucosamine Sulfate?

Most people report that their pain starts to decrease after taking Glucosamine Sulfate for approximately 2 months. Thus, don't be discouraged if your pain is not immediately reduced. You should take Glucosamine Sulfate for at least three months at the maximum recommended dose. Once your pain begins to subside, you may start to slowly decrease the amount of your Glucosamine Sulfate. If your pain returns, you should increase your dosage to the maximum dosage for another two to three months.

What is the Average dosage of Glucosamine Sulfate?

Although there is no "official recommended dose", most experts using Glucosamine Sulfate would recommend the following, based on your weight:


200 lbs. (91 kg) or less - 1,500mg of Glucosamine Sulfate per day
Over 200 lbs.(91 kg) - 2,000mg- 2,250mg per day

Are There Side Effects to Glucosamine?

One of the best attributes of Glucosamine Sulfate is its ability to target the underlying cause of your arthritis with causing very few unwanted side effects. Anti inflammatories (known as NSAIDS) such as Ibuprofen (Motrin™) or aspirin are traditionally used by physicians to treat the pain associated with arthritis. However, these medications do not address the underlying cause of your arthritis. They just cover-up your pain. In addition, they cause unwanted side effects such as stomach ulcers; as well as kidney and liver failure. Furthermore, most NSAIDS actually decrease your body's production of new cartilage. This is very disturbing information because you may be actually making your problem worse by taking these NSAIDS.

In recent scientific studies, Glucosamine Sulfate has been shown to have a significantly lower rate of unwanted side effects while producing superior long-term relief of pain associated with osteoarthritis. The most commonly reported side effect was gastrointestinal discomfort (upset stomach) which was well below the reported side effects of NSAIDS. There has also been some question of the ability of Glucosamine Sulfate to elevate blood sugars; however, there has been no substantial evidence to support this claim. NOTE - If you are considering the use of Glucosamine Sulfate or any other nutritional supplement, you should discuss this with your physician.

What about Chodroitin Sulfate?

Chondroitin Sulfate is another nutritional supplement that is usually added to glucosamine formulations. Chondroitin is speculated to work together with the glucosamine to protect your cartilage from further destruction and to draw in more moisture into the cartilage. However, some earlier studies on the absorption of Chondroitin Sulfate from your intestines has shown that it is very poorly absorbed and a majority of the product was excreted through your urine. The major source of Chondroitin is from the trachea (wind pipe) of cows. Thus, if you are a vegetarian or you are concerned about the detrimental effects of beef, especially such things as "mad cow disease", you may want to avoid Chondroitin Sulfate. In addition, you can obtain chondroitin from other sources in your diet such as the gristle found around the bones of meat.

Are there any other supplements I should take for arthritis?

Yes, there are! Such supplements as vitamin C, D and E have proven benefits in reducing the progression of your osteoarthritis. The mineral maganese has some evidence suggesting that it may be helpful in the recovery from arthritis. Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is a biologic form of sulfur that has some preliminary evidence of its ability to reduce pain in-patients with arthritis.

[hedgehog]

1. Various members of my family wear by this for knee osteoarthritis

The problem is that under our drug laws, there is no FDA regulation of this drug so there is no guarantee that you're getting what's advertised on the package label since technically it's a supplement.

[JohnWxy]

6. I know. You have to try to find a company you can trust to be honest.

NOW foods brand is good. A good site on the web is www.Iherb.com. I've talked with the owner and he is really serious about his business and he checks out companies whose products go on his site (or at least he did when I talked to him about 8 yrs ago when iherb was just getting started).

Another really good organization is www.lef.org. THis organization has a technical advisory board that is packed with Doctors and researchers. You might check them out just for the wealth of information on their site. they are very serious about what they are doing and perform frequent Quality checks of the companies they deal with. They even have funded research themselves and have gotten a grant from NIH for some research (on cryogenics, I believe).

[Dr.Phool]

2. I find from experience that Glucosamine seems to work,

And my doctor agreed a few years ago. It helps my back too.

But, a study written about it in the St. Pete Times a couple of weeks ago said it was only slightly more effective than a placebo.

I've taken it with a MSM compound for years, and if I get off it for a couple of weeks, I know it.

And, my vet told me to put my dogs on it too.

[roguevalley]

4. my mom and I use it and SWEAR by it. Dogs? Very, very cool.

Four elderly fat dachshunds salute you! What dosage?

[RebelOne]

10. I give it to my 8-year-old Rottweiler.

She is developing arthritis. I give her the adult dosage, as she is 107 pounds.

[davidwparker]

9. I think there was a diary on HuffPo about that study. It was sponsored

by Pfitzer -- or some other pharma.

link -> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-gordon/did-you-understand-the-ar_b_16399.html

on edit: found link and embedded doctor's response to recent study.

[NoSunWithoutShadow]

3. I swear by Cosamine DS!

My 92 year old mom, my sister and I; all find relief in our knee and hip joint pains. It is not 100% relief, but 75% relief is a great relief by comparison.

This is true especially for my mom. Maybe it is the placebo effect we'll take it; sugar pill or not, our joints feel relieved.

[Kajsa]

5. I use Celebrex daily for

arthritis and lower back pain.
I had no idea that NSAIDS decreased
the production of new cartilage.
Thanks for posting this.

[JohnWxy]

7. here is a good site for info on latest research

www.lef.org They have a lot of good information on this site. It's an organization that constantly monitors research to see what works best. Technical advisory board loaded with Doctors and researchers.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

8. Glyconutrients spur the production of stem cells in the bone marrow

and if you don't realize what that translates into I suggest you google glyconutrients stem cells. Think of the possibilities.

[Trillo]

11. I give this stuff to my dog when his hip problem flares up,

and it definitely seems to work, after several days he stops limping. With a dog there can be no placebo effect.