A comparative study of efficacy and safety of glucosamine plus chondroitin sulphate versus rosehip as add on therapy to NSAIDs in patients suffering from osteoarthritis

Background: Osteoarthritis is a chronic and debilitating disease. Management of disease is a big challenge. NSAIDS play an important role but have many adverse reactions. So, this study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of natural compound rosehip versus glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate in patients of osteoarthritis.Methods: An open label, randomized, parallel group comparative study, conducted on patients of either sex with confirmed diagnosis of osteoarthritis on standard NSAIDs therapy, attending the outpatient department of orthopedics in a tertiary care centre. 150 patients were enrolled and divided into three groups (group A, group B and group C) of 50 each. Patients of group A were given Glucosamine plus chondroitin sulphate for 12 weeks. Group B was given rosehip for 12 weeks and group C placebo. These supplements were given as add on therapy. Patients were monitored and adverse drug reactions were noted. The data was analysed statistically using t- test for efficacy and descriptive stats for assessing the safety.Results: Efficacy was assessed by comparing mean reduction in the pain intensity between group A and B, group B gives highly significant results as compared to group A. While comparing joint tenderness, swelling around joint, mean functional capacity and improvement in the overall assessment, group B gives significant results as compared to group A. It was also observed that group A and group B were better than group C in all the efficacy parameters. All the drugs were well tolerated and systemically safe.Conclusions: There was significant difference in efficacy of rosehip compared with glaucosamine and chondroitin sulphate in patients of osteoarthritis. In comparison there was no significant difference in safety of two drugs and both were considered safe in patients.

Osteoartrite: fisiopatologia e tratamento medicamentoso / Osteoarthritis: physiopathology and drug treatment

A osteoartrite (OA) é a causa mais frequente de doença crônica musculoesquelética, sendo sem dúvida a maior causa de limitação das atividades diárias entre os idosos. Atualmente, cerca de 40% dos adultos com idade superior a 70 anos sofrem de OA do joelho; destes, 80% apresentam limitações de movimento e em 25% as atividades diárias estão comprometidas. Nas últimas décadas têm ocorrido avanços na terapêutica da osteoartrite

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common cause of chronic musculoskeletal disease and the most prevalent reason for the limitation of daily activities of the elderly population. Currently, about 40% of adults aged over 70 suffer from OA of the knee. Of these, 80% suffer from limitations in motion and 25% are engaged to carry out their daily activities. In recent decades there have been advances in the treatment of osteoarthritis

Pregnancy malaria: cryptic disease, apparent solution

Malaria during pregnancy can be severe in non-immune women, but in areas of stable transmission, where women are semi-immune and often asymptomatic during infection, malaria is an insidious cause of disease and death for mothers and their offspring. Sequelae, such as severe anaemia and hypertension in the mother and low birth weight and infant mortality in the offspring, are often not recognised as consequences of infection. Pregnancy malaria, caused by Plasmodium falciparum, is mediated by infected erythrocytes (IEs) that bind to chondroitin sulphate A and are sequestered in the placenta. These parasites have a unique adhesion phenotype and distinct antigenicity, which indicates that novel targets may be required for development of an effective vaccine. Women become resistant to malaria as they acquire antibodies against placental IE, which leads to higher haemoglobin levels and heavier babies. Proteins exported from the placental parasites have been identified, including both variant and conserved antigens, and some of these are in preclinical development for vaccines. A vaccine that prevents P. falciparum malaria in pregnant mothers is feasible and would potentially save hundreds of thousands of lives each year.

Effects of rehabilitation on the axon regeneration microenvironment and motor function after spinal cord injury in beagle dogs / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective To investigate the effects of rehabilitation training on the microenvironment for axon regeneration and the possible mechanisms promoting axon regeneration,reconstruction and functional compensation after spinal cord injury (SCI) in beagle dogs.Methods Fifteen beagles were divided into a sham operated group,an SCI model group and a rehabilitation training group.Spinal cord hemi-transection injury was carried out.From the 8th day after SCI,the rehabilitation training group was given treadmill training.All dogs were sacrificed 60 days postinjury and samples were harvested.Chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan (CSPG) expression of astroglial cells around the injured area was observed using an immunofluorescence technique.The expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and CSPG protein in each group were semi-quantified by Western blot analysis.Axon regeneration was observed by silver staining.Motor function was assessed using modified Tarlov scores.Results In the rehabilitation training group,compared with the model group astroglial production of CSPG was reduced remarkably.Both CSPG expression and axon regeneration were enhanced and functional deficits improved.Conclusions Rehabilitation training can inhibit astroglial production of CSPG,improve the microenvironment for injured axon regeneration,and promote reconstruction and functional compensation after traumatic SCI.

Efeitos dos glicosaminoglicanos e sulfato de condroitina A sobre a cartilagem articular normal e com doença articular degenerativa em cães / Glycosaminoglycans and chondroitin sulphate A effects on normal and osteoarthritic articular cartilage in dogs

Avaliaram-se os efeitos dos precursores dos glicosaminoglicanos (GAG) e do sulfato de condroitina A (SC) sobre a histomorfometria da cartilagem articular normal ou de cartilagem de cães com doença articular degenerativa (DAD) experimental. Os grupos experimentais constituíram-se de animais com articulação direita normal, que não foi submetida a procedimento cirúrgico, e com articulação esquerda osteoartrótica e que foi submetida à intervenção cirúrgica. Os grupos foram subdivididos em animais com articulação não tratada e tratada, portanto: normais (N) (n=5), NGAG (n=5) e NSC (n=4); e osteoartróticos (O) (n=5), OGAG (n=5) e OSC (n=4). Secções de cartilagens do fêmur, da tíbia e da patela foram utilizadas neste estudo. Nos normais (N, NGAG e NSC), não se encontraram lesões que caracterizassem a DAD, embora tenha havido diminuição na celularidade nos de NGAG e NSC, em relação a N. Foram observadas alterações em graus variáveis entre os grupos osteoartróticos. Houve redução acentuada dos condrócitos no grupo O em comparação aos normais enquanto os grupos osteoartróticos tratados apresentaram celularidade semelhante aos normais tratados. Estes resultados foram confirmados pela análise do índice de proporção (IP), que se mostrou elevado em O, indicando menor síntese de proteoglicanos. Não houve diferença significativa entre os IPs dos grupos osteoartróticos tratados (OGAG, OSC) apesar do comportamento distinto do OSC ao assemelhar-se aos grupos N e NSC. Estes resultados sugeriram que o SC agiu na cartilagem osteoartrótica de maneira mais eficaz, reduzindo a perda de proteoglicanos e estimulando a viabilidade celular e a atividade metabólica.

The effects of precursors of glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and chondroitin sulphate A (CS) on the histomorphometry of normal articular cartilage and with experimental degenerative joint disease (DJD) in dogs were evaluated. The groups were constituted as follows: normal joints were not undergone to the surgical procedure and left osteoarthritics that suffered surgical intervention. These were then distributed into joints that did not receive drug treatment and those that received: normal (N) (n = 5); NGAG (n = 5), and NCS (n = 4); and osteoarthritics: O (n = 5); OGAG (n = 5); and OCS (n = 4). Cartilage sections of the femur, tibia, and patella were used in this study. In normal groups (N, NGAG, and NCS) no lesions were found that could characterize DJD, although the cellularity was shown to be slightly diminished in NGAG and NCS, in relation to N. Characteristic DJD disorders were identified in variable degrees among osteoarthritic groups and were more severe in O. There was marked reduction of the number of chondrocytes in group O, as compared to the normal groups, while treated osteoathritic groups showed similar cellularity to that of normal groups. These results were supported by the analysis of the index of proportion (IP), which was high in O, indicating less synthesis of proteoglycans. These results suggest that chondroitin A sulphate acted on osteoarthritic cartilage in a more efficient way than glycosaminoglycan precursors, reducing the loss of proteoglycans caused by the degenerative process, stimulating cellular viability and metabolic activity.

The effect of the removal of chondroitin sulfate on bond strength of dentin adhesives and collagen architecture / 대한치과보존학회지

Proteoglycan is highly hydrophilic and negatively charged which enable them attract the water. The objective of study was to investigate the effects of Proteoglycan on microtensile bond strength of dentin adhesives and on architecture of dentin collagen matrix of acid etched dentin by removing the chondroitin sulphate attached on Proteoglycan. A flat dentin surface in mid-coronal portion of tooth was prepared. After acid etching, half of the specimens were immersed in 0.1 U/mL chondroitinase ABC (C-ABC) for 48 h at 37degrees C, while the other half were stored in distilled water. Specimens were bonded with the dentin adhesive using three different bonding techniques (wet, dry and re-wet) followed by microtensile bond strength test. SEM examination was done with debonded specimen, resin-dentin interface and acid-etched dentin surface with/without C-ABC treatment. For the subgroups using wet-bonding or dry-bonding technique, microtensile bond strength showed no significant difference after C-ABC treatment (p > 0.05). Nevertheless, the subgroup using rewetting technique after air dry in the Single Bond 2 group demonstrated a significant decrease of microtensile bond strength after C-ABC treatment. Collagen architecture is loosely packed and some fibrils are aggregated together and relatively collapsed compared with normal acid-etched wet dentin after C-ABC treatment. Further studies are necessary for the contribution to the collagen architecture of noncollagenous protein under the various clinical situations and several dentin conditioners and are also needed about long-term effect on bond strength of dentin adhesive.