Chondroitin + glucosamine sulfate may provide no benefits for patients with knee osteoarthritis

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) plus glucosamine sulfate (GS) was no better than placebo for reducing pain and function impairment in a multicenter, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study of 164 patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Although the use of CS and GS has been recognized since the 1970s, there has been limited data concerning their efficacy for treating knee osteoarthritis. Additional research may provide valuable insights on what role CS+GS therapy might play in the management of osteoarthritis.

"This is the first randomized controlled trial sponsored by a pharmaceutical company to evaluate the efficacy of a combination of CS and GS and that included a Data and Safety Monitoring Board, or DSMB, composed of independent experts charged with ensuring participant safety and accurate, bias-free data. This committee was blinded to treatment assignment and not involved in the trial procedures, and it had no financial ties or conflicts of interest with the sponsor or other trial organizers," said Prof. Gabriel Herrero-Beaumont, senior author of the Arthritis & Rheumatology study.