Two years ago, the government-sponsored Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT) determined that neither glucosamine nor chondroitin, alone or together, reduced pain and other symptoms much better than a placebo. Now the second part of the GAIT study has examined the other claims made for these supplements - that they slow or prevent the deterioration of joint-cushioning cartilage caused by arthritis.
In the follow-up study, 357 subjects continued treatment (glucosamine, chondroitin, both together, Celebrex, or a placebo) for an extra 18 months and then had X-rays to measure cartilage loss. The exams found insignificant differences in cartilage loss between the treatment groups. Interestingly, glucosamine and chondroitin acted less effectively when taken together than singly, and nothing worked much better than a placebo.
In addition, an earlier 2008 Dutch study of 222 arthritis of the hip sufferers found that glucosamine did not reduce pain or stiffness any better than a placebo, and X-rays revealed no differences.
In summary, if you're spending $20 or $30 each month for glucosamine and/or chondroitin you appear to be paying for nothing more than a placebo-like effect; artificially connecting a temporary reduction in arthritis pain - which naturally waxes and wanes - to a particular treatment regimen. Finally, pain relievers can and do help many arthritis sufferers, but they do not affect or reduce the underlying loss of cartilege.
Source: U.C., Berkeley School of Public Health
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