[Frankie]

Heya folks, I found this CME article for natural treatment approaches to osteoarthritis....the abstract below summarizes the article...I will be getting some of these...already taking Omega 3 and 9 and Gluco/Chondro combo. I stated in another post there is room for Big Pharma and tradional healing approaches; here's a great example. Watch out it is hard to read in places. Peace...out!

http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.asp?rID=23104

The use of nutritional supplements as pharmaceutical agents, or ‘nutraceuticals,’ in disease management is not new. Over 250 years ago, a British naval surgeon named James Lind designed and conducted the first documented controlled, prospective clinical trial in an attempt to treat scurvy.1 Through this trial he realized that the condition was a result of a deficiency, and could be cured with the administration of citrus fruits. Since this time, researchers have determined that a number of diseases have dietary insufficiencies at the center of their pathogenesis, and can be treated by correcting these insufficiencies. However, despite the recognition that nutritional abnormalities may be a major contributor in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis, dietary supplements have had a secondary role in its management.

Hyaline cartilage lines the bony surfaces of all synovial joints and consists of chondrocytes, which produce a matrix of type II collagen fibers and proteoglycans, and water. The network of type II collagen fibers provides the tensile strength and rigidity of cartilage, while the hydrated proteoglycan gel occupies the interstices. Proteoglycans have a protein core and many negatively charged glycosaminoglycan chains that allow them to retain water. In weight bearing, proteoglycans serve as a shock absorber by slowly releasing this water.2

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of articular disease, causing greater morbidity than any other condition with the exception of cardiovascular disease. Radiological studies have proposed that >70% of the population aged >65 years have osteoarthritis.1,2 In osteoarthritis, the amount of proteoglycan is depleted gradually, leading to a loss of compressibility and shock absorption. Once cartilage begins to break down, the joint space becomes narrowed and the underlying bone responds to the increased stress with hypertrophic repair. This ongoing process leads to sclerosis of subchondral bone (eburnation), cyst formation, and osteophyte formation in an effort to distribute the load through the joint.2,3

Currently, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and corticosteroids remain the most common therapies to achieve symptomatic relief from osteoarthritis. They function as anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents by inhibiting the synthesis of prostaglandins. However, some evidence has suggested that this impairment of prostaglandin synthesis may exacerbate cartilage loss and therefore encourage progression of the disease process.4-7 This makes the prospect of alternate therapies devoid of this effect, and possibly even able to hinder disease progression, extremely attractive. Nutraceuticals that have been the subject of clinical trials for use in the management of osteoarthritis are listed in the Table.