Glucosamine and Chondroitin for Treating Symptoms of Osteoarthritis
Evidence Is Widely Touted but Incomplete
- Tanveer E. Towheed, BA, MD, MSc, FRCPC;
- Tassos P. Anastassiades, MD, PhD, FRCPC
- Author Affiliations: Departments of Medicine (Drs Towheed and Anastassiades), Community Health and Epidemiology (Dr Towheed), and Biochemistry, Rheumatic Diseases Unit (Dr Anastassiades), Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and is a leading cause of physical disability, increased health care usage, and impaired quality of life.1-2 An estimated 12% of the US population aged 25 years and older (nearly 21 million persons in 1990) have clinical signs and symptoms of OA.3
Although nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used to treat OA and have been proved effective, their widespread use is associated with significant potential toxic effects, especially in the elderly population. Although the cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors have a lower rate of gastrointestinal tract complications than conventional NSAIDS, there remains an urgent need for finding pharmacological therapies for OA that are both effective and relatively safe. In this regard, the nutraceuticals glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate have attracted substantial attention by the public and in the medical literature.4-5
Glucosamine is a hexosamine sugar and …
