Popular Supplements Ineffective Against Arthritis

A two-year study of how well glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate slow cartilage loss in arthritis patients could not show that the popular nutritional supplements work any better than sugar pills.

"We don't have good evidence that it slows (disease) progression," says rheumatologist Allen Sawitzke, professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah and lead investigator.  A two-year study of how well glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate slow cartilage loss in arthritis patients could not show that the popular nutritional supplements work any better than sugar pills.”

The results were published on the website of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.

The combination glucosamine chondroitin is the sixth-top-selling dietary supplement in the USA. It had annual sales of $831 million in 2007, the Nutrition Business Journal says.