Glucosamine and Chondroitin better than prescription drug for moderate to severe osteoarthritic pain

In the 14 million dollar Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT) sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, 1,583 people with osteoarthritis were tested for the effectiveness of Glucosamine/Chondroitin. The participants were split into 5 groups consisting of; those given placebo, those given celecoxib (trade name Celebrex), those given Glucosamine, those given Chondroitin, and those given a combination of Glucosamine and Chondroitin. In the low to moderate pain level celecoxib had the best result, however, within 6 weeks the combination of Glucosamine with Chondroitin reduced the level of pain by 25% in the moderate to severe pain range group where celecoxib was no better than placebo. The study was carried out by pharmaceutical interests and is published in the February 23, 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Resveratrol protects the heart by preconditioning it

Resveratrol has many and diverse biochemical and physiological activities that protect the cardiovascular system. Several recent studies determined the cardioprotective abilities of Resveratrol. Resveratrol decreases damage done to the heart after a heart attack, reduces the occurrence of atherosclerosis, and reduces ventricular arrhythmias. Resveratrol protects the heart through a preconditioning effect; the best yet devised method of protecting the heart. The research analysis was performed at the Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, and is published in the February 2006 issue of the journal Molecular Interventions.

Resveratrol prevents or greatly reduces experimentally induced cataracts in rats

The eyes of rats were treated with either harmless placebo, a chemical that is used to create cataracts in research, or the same chemical plus Resveratrol. In the placebo group all rats had clear eyes; in the chemical only treatment group all of the rats developed stage 3 to stage 6 cataracts. In the chemical plus Resveratrol group only about 55% developed cataracts and those that developed were a much lower stage of development (stages 1 to 3).The lenses of the eyes in those protected from the chemical by Resveratrol were higher in glutathione antioxidant activity and had less inflammation. The research is published in the February 2006 issue of Current Eye Research.

Commentary by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph.