Supplement shows promise for mild knee arthritis

A dietary supplement - hyaluronic acid (HA) - brings some pain relief to people with knee arthritis, preliminary research shows.
The natural substance HA is usually found in the body and it lubricates and cushions the joints. HA injections directly into the knee joint are sometimes used to treat more-severe cases of arthritis.

The new study, reported in Nutrition Journal, looked at whether an oral HA supplement might help relieve pain in people with less-than-severe knee arthritis. The supplement, like the products used for injections, contains HA extracted from chicken combs.

Researchers found that among 20 adults with knee arthritis, those who took the HA supplement for eight weeks reported greater pain relief and improvements in physical function than those who were given inactive, placebo pills. The findings are evidence that oral HA supplements are beneficial as an additional treatment for people with painful knee arthritis. Past research has found that oral HA is "bioavailable" -- meaning the substance can be absorbed and used by the body. The study is published online ahead of print in the January 21, 2008 issue of Nutrition Journal.

Perna Canaliculus effective for mild to moderate arthritic pain according to careful-systematic review of research

Natural remedies for treating arthritic symptoms such as pain, are sought by patients to avoid the illness caused by arthritic drugs prescribed by medical doctors, especially caused by NSAID drugs such as naproxen or ibuprofen. In this systematic review, researchers from the Department of Primary Care and the School of Mathematics, both at the University of Southampton, Hampshire, UK, looked at the evidence for using Perna Canaliculus to treat osteoarthritis. The results of all previous trials and two very rigorous clinical trials shows that Perna canaliculus improves pain and symptoms of mild to moderate arthritis. The review is published in the January 2008 issue of the journal QJM; the Monthly Journal of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland.