Glucosamine Update

Glucosamine appears to have no effect on chronic low back pain, degenerative lumbar osteoarthritis.
On its website, ABC News (7/6, Allen) reported, "Glucosamine has looked like salvation to many people with joint pain," and "statistics attest to the supplement's widespread appeal." For example, a "2007 federal survey of Americans' use of complementary and alternative medicine found that more than 6 million adults in the United States had taken glucosamine in the previous month." Meanwhile, a "study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published in 2004, found that among women treated at New Mexico hospitals for joint and muscle pain, 25 percent of those with osteoarthritis used glucosamine."
Nevertheless, there have been mixed study results regarding the effectiveness of the treatment, according to the Los Angeles Times (7/6, Stein) "Booster Shots" blog. "Some studies have shown the supplement to be effective in treating some joint pain, but others show no benefit." Now, research coming out of Norway reveals "that glucosamine was no different from a placebo in treating lower back pain."
The study included 250 individuals with "chronic back pain and degenerative lumbar osteoarthritis" who were randomly assigned "1,500 milligrams daily of glucosamine or an inactive placebo," HealthDay (7/6, Reinberg) reported. The "patients' pain was measured using the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire at 6 weeks, then again at 3, 6 and 12 months," according to the paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "At the start of the...trial, patients taking glucosamine scored 9.2 on the pain scale while the patients taking placebo scored 9.7."
Six months later, "the average score in both groups was 5.0," MedPage Today (7/6, Smith) reported. "At a year, the average score was 4.8 for glucosamine and 5.5 for placebo, but the difference remained nonsignificant." What's more, "between the end of the intervention and the end of follow-up, there was...no significant difference in average disability score, lower back pain at rest and during activity, and quality of life."
Still, pointed out the author of an accompanying editorial, "no one study settles any question," WebMD (7/6, DeNoon) reported. But the supplement "did no harm," explained lead author Philip Wilkens. "And some patients who improved while taking the supplement told him they were sure it helped them." Reuters (7/7) and Medscape (7/6, Anderson) also covered the study.