Last week, a study published in The Lancet reports the results of a clinical trial that showed glucosamine sulfate slows disease progression in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The three-year, double blind, placebo-controlled study was performed using 212 patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis who were randomly selected to receive 1500 mg once-a-day of oral glucosamine sulfate or a placebo for the three-year period.
According to the study, patients who received a placebo treatment experienced further loss of cartilage, but patients who received glucosamine sulfate showed cartilage loss. Additionally, pain and function limitation worsened with the placebo, but improved with glucosamine sulfate. The study also showed that glucosamine sulfate is a safe compound.
The Lancet article warns against generalizing the results of this study to glucosamine products other than the one used in this study, Dona(TM), which is manufactured by Rotta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dona(TM) is sold as a prescription drug in Europe, and is also available in the United States as a dietary supplement.
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