Will glucosamine and/or chondroitin sulfate modify OA progression?
An ancillary arm of GAIT designed to study the supplements’ effects on radiographic disease progression at 1 and 2 years is now completing enrollment. Results from this arm should be informative, Dr. Hochberg says, asking, “Should glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate be given in conjunction with other treatments for symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee because of their potential ability to modify the rate of structural deterioration, even if they have no effect on symptoms? More data to help answer this question may become available later this year when the GAIT group releases its findings on the structure-modifying effect of these agents.” Calling it an “important study,” NCCAM director Stephen E. Straus, MD, points out that arthritis patients routinely turn to complementary and alternative medicine. “Based upon data from the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2002, an estimated 5.2 million people were using glucosamine with or without chondroitin in the pr
