Return To Glucosamine Technical Home Page
New Canadian study:
Glucosamine hydrochloride shows potential positive benefits
The results of the first North American study with glucosamine hydrochloride were presented at the July 1998 meeting of the 12th Pan-American Congress of Rheumatology in Montreal, Canada.
Dr. Joseph Houpt, from Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada, in cooperation with Dr. Allan Russell, from Brampton Pain Clinic in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, gave 47 individuals with osteoarthritis glucosamine hydrochloride 500 mg three times a day for 8 weeks.
They compared the results to a placebo group of 47 individuals. At the conclusion of the study, 49 percent of those receiving glucosamine noted benefits. However, it appears that there is a high placebo effect in osteoarthritis since 45 percent of those on placebo also reported feeling better. Part of the reason of the high response from the placebo group may be due to pre-study media hype. Patient expectations may have had a significant effect on the clinical responses.
The researchers noted an improvement in the knee examination of patients in the glucosamine group from the 4th to the 8th week. Dr. Russell adds, "The most impressive finding was the significant decrease in pain which started at the 4th week and accelerated with time. We closely examined the results of an arthritis symptom questionnaire and found the glucosamine group had a better response than the placebo group in 23 out of the 24 questions." Mild gastrointestinal side effects were seen in 12 percent in both groups.
Los Angeles physician Ray Sahelian, M.D., author of Glucosamine and Chondroitin (Avery, 1998), says, "Eight weeks may not be enough time to fully evaluate the effects of glucosamine on osteoarthritis. My patients generally notice continued improvement in the third and fourth months of therapy. Often higher dosages, such as 1,000 mg three times a day, offer a quicker response.
"Claims have been made that glucosamine sulfate is better than glucosamine hydrochloride. Until glucosamine hydrochloride and glucosamine sulfate are tested head to head in the same study, it would be scientifically premature to claim that one form is better than the other form."
Some differences between glucosamine sulfate (GS) and glucosamine hydrochloride (GHCL):
1)After
oral administration, glucosamine sulfate is split into glucosamine and sulfate
ion. Therefore, it doesn't matter if one takes ghcl or gs..
2)During the preparation of gs, sodium and potassium are added, and about 83 percent of ghcl is actual glucosamine while only about 63 percent of gs is actual glucosamine. Therefore, one gets more glucosamine per capsule form ghcl than from gs.
3) There's plenty of sulfur in the body. Sulfur is readily available in the foods we eat. There's plenty around in the body to use when needed.
4) GS is more expensive.
5) One company, Rotta in Italy, picked the GS form years ago and they have funded all the studies with this form. Most of the results have been positive. However, this doesn't mean other forms like GHCL don't work.
6) The clinical response from patients seems to be similar.
Dr. Sahelian does not have a strong preference for one form over the other. He says, "I just don't think we should discount the HCL form just because some companies are pushing GS heavily and badmouthing the other forms."
[click on the book image to order this book]
Scenario:
Doctor: You're no spring
chicken any more! What do you expect at your age? Everyone gets arthritis.
There's no cure. You're just going to have to live with it.
Patient:But, doctor, my aches really bother me. I'm stiff. Every time I move it hurts. I can't enjoy my walks any more.
Doctor: Here's a prescription that is going to help
you. But don't take too much of it. It can upset your stomach.
I wonder how often similar conversations between doctors and patients with arthritis have occurred. I know they do because I once said the above words to many of my older patients.
I once freely gave out prescriptions for NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen). I didn't know any better! None of my professors in medical school or residency and none of the medical journals I read at the time hinted that other options were available. But are there really other suitable options to treat osteoarthritis (OA) besides NSAIDs? I believe there are and that is why I wrote this book. It's time the medical community realized that natural nutrients have a role in the care of arthritis patients. Long-term use of NSAIDs, including aspirin, can lead to stomach ulcers, kidney damage, toxicity to auditory nerve cells affecting hearing, and potential harm to other organs. NSAIDs can even inhibit cartilage tissue formation. I believe natural nutrients, although not always effective, should be tried first before prescribing pharmaceuticals. One particular nutrient, glucosamine, deserves a serious discussion.
What is Glucosamine?
A natural substance found abundantly in the human body, glucosamine is made from the combination of a sugar - hence the first part of the name glucos(e) - and an amine, which is a derivative of ammonia containing nitrogen (N) and hydrogen (H) atoms.
Glucosamine is found largely in cartilage and plays an important role in its health and resiliency. As we age, we lose some of the glucosamine and other substances in cartilage.. This can lead to the thinning of cartilage and the onset and progression of arthritis. In this book we'll explore the concept that taking glucosamine pills by mouth can play a role in helping patients with arthritis. It is important to note that there are a variety of important substances within cartilage and glucosamine ingestion, by itself, should not be viewed as the complete answer. Glucosamine is available over the counter and through mail order vitamin companies.
I can just hear a skeptic asking...
But can glucosamine pills be absorbed from the stomach and end up in cartilage?
Yes. After oral administration of glucosamine, 90% is absorbed.
In a study done in Italy, two healthy male volunteers were given 250 mg of oral glucosamine, tagged with radioactive carbon 14 as a tracer, in the morning on an empty stomach.
The radioactive G was found an hour later in blood and then later in other tissues. The researchers state, "G is very rapidly diffuses in most tissues and organs and that it has a special tropism (attraction) for articular tissue (cartilage) and for bone." These volunteers were also given G intravenously (IV) and intramuscularly (IM). The amount of G in blood after oral administration was only a quarter of the amount available by IV and IM. Therefore oral administration is effective, but not as good as IV or IV. When oral G is absorbed, it first goes to the liver where a large portion gets broken down into smaller molecules such as carbon dioxide, urea and water.
|
I promise to answer your message -- click here to send me a personal message
|
SUBSCRIBE: The Wednesday Letter is a free electronic monthly newsletter written and published by Karl Loren. You can view more than 50 back issues of this publication by clicking here. The Wednesday Letter subscription list is maintained on a secure server, no name is ever given or sold to anyone, and it is never used except for this Newsletter. It is automatically published on the Tuesday night just before the first Wednesday of every month. You can subscribe to this free monthly electronic letter by entering your eMail address and name below. You will then automatically receive a request for confirmation, sent to whatever address you have entered. If you do NOT receive this confirmation request, then you will not be subscribed. There may have been an error with your address and you should resubmit. The letter is never sent twice to the same address -- so you do not have to worry about a duplicate subscription. When you receive this confirmation request you must reply to it, or your subscription will not become active. No one can subscribe your name, and address, without you being notified, and if you get an unwanted notice of subscription you only need to DO NOTHING and the subscription will NOT be active.
REMOVAL: You can remove yourself from the subscription list in several different ways. Click here to read about this entire newsletter system. Every edition of The Wednesday Letter is delivered to your address with YOUR name and address in view on the letter, with a link that allows you to remove THAT name from the subscription list. If you try to send this removal message from an address different from the one you used to send in your original confirmation, then you will get a warning notice first, sent to the subscription address, asking you to confirm that you want to be removed from the list -- by replying to THAT request for confirmation, you will then be automatically removed. Thus, no one else can unsubscribe you, from some other computer, without your knowledge. But, if you send in the unsubscribe notice from the same machine used to receive the Letter, then the removal from the subscription list is automatic.
Personal Message: When you send a personal message to Karl Loren, you will receive a personal reply as per his instructions. Karl pledges that every personal message will get a personal answer. When you provide your mail address, we will send you free information including our free catalog and a cassette tape lecture by Karl Loren about heart disease, no charge, by mail, even if outside the US. You can select particular information you would like to receive, along with the free cassette tape and catalog.
You can reach Vibrant Life in many ways, including by mail to Vibrant Life, 2808 N. Naomi St., Burbank, CA 91504. Within the US and Canada, use the toll free number: (800) 523-4521, the local number: (818) 558-1799, the FAX: (818) 558-7299, eMail to kimberly@oralchelation.com or any one of the hundreds of message forms throughout the 50 web sites. Vibrant Life normally ships the same day we get an order. There are message forms on each of the 100,000+ pages on this and other sites where you can communicate with Vibrant Life. Check out our companion site, at: http://www.oralchelation.net where Karl's 2000 page book is published. Karl Loren is the author and webmaster for this BOOK, as well as for another web site about ORAL CHELATION. His personal philosophical articles are at PHILOSOPHY.
Copyright © May 20, 2008 6:24 AM by Karl Loren on behalf of Vibrant Life, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Permission is granted for non-commercial downloading, copying, distribution or redistribution on two conditions: One, that some form of copyright notice is included in every copy distributed or copied, showing the copyright belonging to Vibrant Life, Burbank, CA, at www.oralchelation.com . The second condition is that the material is not to be used for any purpose contrary to the purposes and objectives of this site. This permission does not extend to materials on this site which are copyrighted by others.
