Clinical Trials
The Latest Major Clinical Trial Results Are In!

With the ever increasing interest on how to overcome the limitations of living with osteoarthritis, particularly with two major prescription drugs (Vioxx and Bextra) removed from the market, and concerns about long term NSAID usage, two long-anticipated major clinical studies have recently found that alternative health solutions like glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate can be safe, and as, effective as pharmaceutical pain relief drugs.

*The “GAIT” Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial - Glucosamine Effectiveness (13 Universities - United States Study) Highlights: After five years of recruiting, testing and analyzing, this trial excitingly reports, “Combination glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate is effective in treating moderate to severe knee pain due to osteoarthritis.”

Under the direction of the NIH (National Institutes of Health), one of the world’s foremost medical research centers, the Glucosamine Unum in Die Efficacy (GUIDE) trial took place in 13 different European hospitals and compared a 1,500mg daily dose of glucosamine sulfate and a much larger 3,000 mg dose of the OTC drug Acetaminophen (commonly found in Tylenol, Excedrin, and many others) to a placebo in 318 patients. After 24 weeks of monitoring osteoarthritis sufferers, the study clearly showed superior effectiveness of the glucosamine dietary supplement (even at half the dosage of the drug) on many levels of discomfort and mobility. The study confirmed that glucosamine was shown to be more) than the most commonly used pain reliever, acetaminophen!

This study marks the very first time that a well designed study of this scale has been done on a supplement. This study was conducted using taxpayer’s – not a manufacturer’s - dollars. These results represent a monumental victory for everybody who takes dietary supplements for their health and well-being. At about the same time the University based GAIT study results were released in the United States, an independent Hospital based European study (known as the GUIDE study) released its results. They too, showed the extraordinary benefits of glucosamine.

“Glucosamine sulfate…might be the preferred symptomatic medication in knee osteoarthritis.” Dr Herrero-Beaumont of the Fundacíón Jiménez Díaz in Madrid, found glucosamine sulfate to be more effective than the over-the-counter painkiller acetaminophen for joint discomfort in a multicenter, randomized, placebo- and reference-controlled, double-blind study. This means the study was done at multiple hospitals, was randomized to prevent bias, tested against both placebo and real medications and the doctors did not know who was getting the placebo or the glucosamine. This was an extraordinarily well designed study and the results speak for themselves.