Glucosamine and Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis

Three RCTs used joint space narrowing to measure disease progression of knee osteoarthritis.4 Methodologie difficulties in standardization of joint space width measurements and knee radiographs limited definite conclusions on the effectiveness of glucosamine as a disease-modifying agent; however, in two RCTs,3 patients receiving glucosamine in a dosage of 1,500 mg per day for three years demonstrated 0.27 mm less joint space narrowing than those taking placebo (95% confidence interval, 0.13 to 0.41 mm).