Glucosamine sulphate and osteoarthritis

Jean Yves Reginster and colleagues

show that long-term oral glucosamine sulphate improved symptoms in older non-obese patients who had primary knee osteoarthritis without inflammation.

The mainstay of non-pharmacological therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee is exercise.

Pain and disability are reduced by aerobic exercise and by exercise that strengthens the muscles around the joint.

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Although not explicitly stated by Reginster and colleagues, it seems unlikely that the control and trial patients in their study took different amounts of exercise. There is, therefore, a case for investigation of whether the beneficial effects of exercise and oral glucosamine differ and whether they are additive.