Two new clinical studies which will be presented in San Diego on 14 November, have found that glucosamine/chondroitin supplementation significantly reduced the pain of arthritic joints.

The first set of results come from the multi-centered Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT) conducted by the US government-funded National Institutes of Health.

How the Study was Conducted

1,500 osteoarthritis patients were given a daily dose of either 1,500 mg of glucosamine hydrochloride, 1,200 mg of chondroitin sulphate, a combination of both supplements, 200 mg of the common prescription painkiller celecoxib (Celebrex) or a placebo for 24 weeks.

The patients were evaluated every four weeks.

Both celecoxib and the glucosamine-chondroitin combination significantly reduced knee pain compared to placebo.

The first will be presented to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR)by Daniel Clegg from the University of Utah.

The following day Dr Herrero-Beaumont from the Fundacion Jimenez Diaz in Madrid will disclose the results of a multi-centre European study, which has found glucosamine sulphate to be more effective than the over-the-counter painkiller acetaminophen on joint pain.

How this Study was Conducted

The Glucosamine Unum in Die Efficacy (GUIDE) trial compared a daily dose of 1500mg of glucosamine sulphate and 3000 mg of the OTC drug to a placebo in 318 patients.

After 24 weeks, the superior efficacy of the glucosamine supplement on various pain and mobility of arthritic joints was evident.

Andrew Shao, in charge of scientific affairs at the US-based trade association the Council for Responsible Nutrition, noted that each trial can be considered well-designed, well-conducted, gold-standard".