GLUCOSAMINE/CHONDROITIN SULFATE AS EFFECTIVE AS CELECOXIB FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS.

Daniel Clegg, PhD, University of Utah, et al., concluded in the Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT) that a combination of glucosamine/chondroitin sulfate therapy is effective in treating moderate to severe knee pain due to osteoarthritis. Authors evaluated 1,583 patients age 40 and older with knee pain of at least six months duration. Participants were randomized to either glucosamine 500 mg tid, chondroitin 400 mg tid, a glucosamine/chondroitin combination at the above doses tid, Pfizer’s Celebrex 200 mg daily or placebo for 24 weeks. The glucosamine/chondroitin combination performed as well, if not better than, the Pfizer’s Celebrex in patients with moderate to severe pain. It was noted that the Pfizer’s Celebrex relief was faster, but the glucosamine/chondroitin showed continuous effects after treatment stopped. ( The Tan Sheet, November 14, 2005)