Glucosamine Saves Joints: Trial Finds Measurable Arthritis Improvement
First seen at www.pillfreevitamins.com
By Adam Marcus - HealthScout Reporter (Jan. 25, 2001)

In what on arthritis expert calls a "landmark" study, researchers say regular treatment with glucosamine can ease the pain, swelling and stiffness of osteoarthritis and lead to measurable improvements in joints.

In the latest study a team led by Dr. Jean Yves Reginster of the Bone and Cartilage Metabolism Unit of the CHU Centre Ville in Liege, Belgium, tested the supplement on 212 people with osteoarthritis in their knees. Subjects were given either a dummy drug or 1500mg of glucosamine daily over 3 years.

The patients had their knee joints x-rayed at the beginning and the end of the trial to measure how much protective cartilage shielded their joints from friction and impact.\

By the end of the study, patients on glucosamine reported a 20% to 25% improvement of their symptoms, while the placebo group reported slight deterioration. The x-rays showed that joint spaces in the untreated patients had narrowed by an average of 20mm, compared to no change among those who took glucosamine.

Reginster says, "We demonstrate that we have significant differences in the number of patients who experienced a significant, relevant loss." in their joint space. "It's the first [study] that shows that it's possible to demonstrate an effect both on the symptoms and the structure" of joints, says Reginster. He says a recent Czech study found similar results.

Ipriflavone for Osteoporosis
First appeared at www.pillfreevitamins.com
By Steven Bratman, M.D.

Sooner or later the media will run out of proven natural treatments to write stories about at least until further research identifies others. But there is one dietary supplement with great evidence behind it that still remains to be popularised: ipriflavone. The science behind this treatment for osteoporosis is truly impressive. However, most people haven't heard of it.

Ipriflavone is related to substances found in soybeans called phytoestrogens. These chemicals act somewhat like estrogen. Ipriflavone also acts like estrogen, but only in that it keeps bones strong. Unlike estrogen, ipriflavone does not appear to affect breast and uterine tissue. This is ipriflavone's significant potential advantage over estrogen. Estrogen increases the risk of uterine and breast cancer, however ipriflavone does not.

Numerous double-blind placebo-controlled studies involving a total of more than 1,300 participants show that ipriflavone can slow the progression of osteoporosis and perhaps even reverse it to some extent.

For example, a 2 year double-blind study followed 198 postmenopausal women who showed evidence of bone loss. At the end of the study, there was a gain in bond density in the ipriflavone, while people in the placebo group lost bone mass. Numerous other studies have found similar results.

A recently published study shows that ipriflavone is even effective during the first couple of years following menopause, the period of most rapid bone loss for women. In this double-blind trial of 60 women in early menopause, treatment with ipriflavone substantially prevented loss of bone in the spine, as compared to treatment with calcium supplements. (Calcium supplements can help slow bone loss, but not effectively enough to protect the spine during the first few years after menopause.)

In addition, this study provides evidence on how ipriflavone works to prevent osteoporosis. The body is always remodeling bone, simultaneously building it up and breaking it down. It appears that ipriflavone mainly works by slowing down the bone breakdown part of this equation (as does estrogen and most medical therapies for osteoporosis). The net result is preservation of bone mass against the forces leading to osteoporosis.