Much of the 'rheumatism" our grandparents talked about was the result of a disease doctors now call osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease, abbreviated "DJD." As we age, DJD becomes the most common cause of joint pain, ultimately affecting most people. DJD is generally considered the result of wear-and-tear damage from using joints over many years. Until recently, there was little hope that supplements or drugs could stop the downward spiral that led to painful hands, knees hips, and other joints associated with aging. The most common treatments have been temporary pain killers, which do not reduce the rate of deterioration in damaged joints.
Fifteen years ago, researchers began supplementing glucosamine sulphate to DJD patients. This naturally occurring molecule is used by the body to make cartilage in healthy joints. Researchers hoped that supplying this building block might lead to repair of DJD-damaged joints. Subsequently, double-blinded trials have consistently shown glucosamine sulphate is effective.
In one double-blinded trial, the standard dose of glucosamine sulphate (500 mg taken three times per day) led to a 40% drop in pain. All ten patients who received glucosamine sulphate in this trial had a reduction in joint swelling, and eight of the ten suffered less pain.' Two other blinded trials also reported greater pain relief in the glucosamine sulphate-treated groups. Anotlher double-blinded trial reported a sharper (73%) drop in symptoms for those taking glucosamine sulphate compared with placebo (41%).4 These researchers also reported a reversal of cartilage damage in treated patients. Another double-blinded trial studying DJD in the knees found that after eight weeks of supplementation, glucosamine sulphate was more effective in reducing pain than taking ibuprofen.5
N-acetyl glucosamine and glucosamine HCI have not been tested in any controlled osteoarthritis trials. They are different molecules (lacking sulphate), and should not be considered equivalent to GS until proven to be so. Until more is known, it would be wise to avoid them.
The vast majority of products labelled "pure glucosamine sulphate" include salt or potassium chloride. Any truly "pure" glucosamine sulphate (if you can find it) would be labelled "sodium and potassium free." The pure molecule is extremely expensive. Fortunately, there are other effective forms at more reasonable cost.
Glucosamine sulphate NaCl— sometimes mislabelled "pure glucosamine sulphate—contains sodium chloride (table salt). Glucosamine sulphate NaCI has 375450 mg of salt in a daily dose—way too much for people on salt-restricted diets. But we all eat too much salt, so why add more?
Glucosamine Sulphate KCL contains potassium chloride, added as a stabilizer. It costs a little more to manufacture than the NaCl form, but it's well worth it because it doesn't contain salt. Glucosamine sulphate KC1 is probably best because it's the only form which has all important features: glucosamine with sulphate, no salt, and reasonable cost.
The most effective treatment for DJD
Every double-blinded trial which has investigated the efficacy of glucosamine sulphate has reported efficacy in treating osteoarthritis (DJD). All clinical research studying glucosamine sulphate suggests that it is not only a safe and effective treatment to reduce the symptoms of osteoarthritis, but may even be valuable in actually reversing the progression of this painful disease.
1 Pujalte JM et al. Double-blind clinical evaluation of oral glucosamine
sulphate in the basic treatment of osteoarthrosis. Curr Med Rez Opin
19K80:7(2):110-14.
2 D'Ambrosio E. et al. Glucosamine sulphate: a controlled clinical investigation
in arthrosis. Pharmatherapeutical 1981:2(8):504 -8
3 Crolle G D'Este E. Glucosamine sulphate for the management of arthrosis:
a controlled clinical investigation. Curr Med Res Opin 1980:7: 104-9.
4 Drorvanti A. et al. Therapeutic activity of oral glucosamine sulphate in
osteoarthritis. a placebo-controlled double-blind investigation Clin Ther
1980: 3(4):260-72.
5 Vaz AL Double-blind clinical evaluation of the relative efficacy of ibuprofen
and glucosamine sulphate in the management of osteoarthritis of the knee
in out-patients. Curr Med Res Opin 1982:8(3):145 -9
Steve Austin,
N.D., is in private practice at the Centre for Natural Medicine in Portland,
Oregon. Former Professor of nutrition at National College of Naturopathic
Medicine, he is currently on the faculties of Southwest and Canadian Colleges
of Naturopathic Medicine. He is co-author of Breast Cancer: What You Should
Know (But May Not Be Told) About Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment (Prima
Publishing, 1994) and editor of Clinical Nutrition Update.
Published in hopeful anticipation of the permission of the author
