Current Perspective on glucosamine sulphate as a disease modifying agent in osteoarthritis |
| Sep 27 2010 |
On September 23-26, the annual OARSI World Congress on Osteoarthritis was held in Brussels for those involved in osteoarthritis (OA) research and treatment. The congress featured speakers from around the world, presenting wide spectrum of topics related to cartilage and OA.
A satellite symposium was organised by Rottapharm/Madaus (the European manufacturer of DONA® Glucosamine), with the purpose of addressing Current perspectives on the clinical use of glucosamine sulphate (GS) as a disease modifying agent in osteoarthritis.
The symposiums key points included:
· DONA Glucosamine is the only crystalline, stabilised form of glucosamine sulphate (GS) with a patented manufacturing process used in successful clinical trials.
· Professor Roy Altman (California, USA) focused on the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) considerations, showing that not all GSs are the same. He highlighted that DONA Glucosamine has superior synovial penetration compared to glucosamine hydrochloride (GH) and that the oncedaily administration of the product (1500mg) reaches a superior steady state plasma levels than divided doses of GH. Also, he outlined that the mechanism of action for DONA Glucosamine seems to be related to the reduction in several interleukin 1-ß induced mediators of inflammation and tissue degeneration.
· Professor Jean Yves Reginster (Liege, Belgium) interpreted the current evidence on symptom-modifying drug in knee OA. He showed that DONA Glucosamine is a safer alternative for symptom modification in OA compared to analgesics or NSAIDs. Reginster demonstrated that DONA Glucosamine displays a beneficial effect both on pain and function compared to placebo and that it displays a better effect than paracetamol.
· The recent BMJ meta-analysis on glucosamine (Wandel S et al, BMJ 2010) was criticised because it mixed together GS and GH studies, with the latter known to be ineffective. Moreover, they included patients with hip OA when GS is approved for knee OA. They also mixed studies of different durations (from 1 month to 36 months) and they pulled together different regimens of administration, including both the once-daily and the three times a day dosages (with different PK/PD profiles which are major determinants of efficacy).
· Professor Hochberg (Baltimore, USA) presented the structure-modifying studies of GS in OA, showing that DONA Glucosamine’s effect on structure is independent from its effect on pain. Total knee replacement occurred in over twice as many patients from the placebo group than in DONA Glucosamine treated patients.
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