JAMA article first-authored by Philip Wilkens
A study performed by research fellow and chiropractor Philip Wilkens from the orthopaedic centre at the Division of Surgery and Clinical Neuroscience confirms that glucosamine has no relieving effect on backache. The findings attract international attention, and are published in the prestigious journal "Journal of American Medical Association" (JAMA) (journal impact factor 31,7). The article - entitled "Effect of Glucosamine on Pain-related Disability in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain and Degenerative Lumbar Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial" - is published in the July 7th issue of JAMA.
Glucosamine is naturally present in the shells of shellfish, animal bones and bone marrow. It is a drug obtainable by prescription, and supplemental glucosamine is traditionally used to ease pain, preventing cartilage degeneration and for treating osteoarthritis. There has been conflicting evidence as to its effectiveness
PhD candidate and chiropractor Philip Wilkens from the Division of Surgery and Clinical Neuroscience at Oslo University Hospital has conducted the study in cooperation with SINTEF in Trondheim.
250 patients with prolonged pain in the lower back region have participated in the study. Glucosamine sulphate and an inert preparation were distributed randomly among two patient groups. The results show that on average every participant showed almost a 50 per cent improvement during the one-year long study period. There was no difference between the two groups. Consequently, the conclusion of the study is that the prescription-only drug glucosamine has no effect on patients with longlasting pain in the lower back region says Wilkens.
The study was conducted between December 2006 and July 2009, and was financed by "Helse og Rehabilitering", "Norsk Kiropraktor Forening" and "Tom Wilhelmsen's Foundation.
Links:
Effect of Glucosamine on Pain-Related Disability in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain and Degenerative Lumbar Osteoarthritis
A Randomized Controlled Trial
Philip Wilkens, MChiro; Inger B. Scheel, PhD; Oliver Grundnes, PhD; Christian Hellum, MD; Kjersti Storheim, PhD
JAMA. 2010;304(1):45-52.
The Journal of the American Medical Association home page
Email address Philip Wilkens: Philip.wilkens@medisin.uio.no
News article from the home page of Oslo University Hospital (in Norwegian)