Eficacia de un complemento alimenticio con colágeno hidrolizado / Efficacy of a food supplement containing hydrolyzed collagen on the improvement of clinical indices in knee osteoarthritis

La osteoartritis (OA) de rodilla es una de las principales causas de dolor y discapacidad en todo el mundo con un impacto socioeconómico importante, que afecta a la calidad de vida de los pacientes y repercute negativamente en el Sistema Nacional de Salud.El objetivo del estudio ha sido evaluar el efecto de un complemento alimenticio con péptidos de colágeno de bajo peso molecular sobre los síntomas de la OA (dolor y limitación funcional).Se realizó un ensayo clínico aleatorizado, doble ciego, controlado con placebo y paralelo de dos brazos con un periodo de seguimiento de 6 meses. El estudio incluyó a 120 pacientes con diagnóstico de gonartrosis grado 2 o 3 y artralgia, con una puntuación mínima de 50 mm (rango de 0 a 100 mm) en la escala visual analógica (EVA) de dolor. Sesenta pacientes fueron asignados al grupo experimental (GrA), que recibió 1 sobre al día del complemento alimenticio que contenía colágeno hidrolizado; el otro grupo (n=60) recibió 1 sobre al día con placebo (GrP). Los sujetos fueron evaluados en una visita inicial, antes del tratamiento (T0) y en la visita final (T1) al concluir los 6 meses del periodo de seguimiento.Ambos grupos de tratamiento fueron comparables en la visita inicial (T0). En la visita final (T1), el GrA (comparado con el GrP), experimentó una disminución estadísticamente significativa en la intensidad del dolor (escala visual analógica, EVA) y la puntuación recogida en el índice algofuncional de Lequesne. También disminuyeron en T1 las cifras de proteína C reactiva (PCR) y la velocidad de sedimentación globular (VSG) en el GrA. No se observaron efectos adversos durante el estudio.El CH mejoró los síntomas de dolor osteoarticular y la capacidad funcional en pacientes con gonartrosis, con un buen perfil de tolerancia y seguridad. (AU)

Knee osteoarthritis is a leading cause of pain and disability worldwide, having a considerable socioeconomical impact on both the health-care system and the patient quality of life.The aim of the study was to assess the effect of a food supplement containing low molecular collagen peptides in the symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA) (pain and functional limitation).A 6-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and parallel two-arm study was conducted in 120 patients diagnosed with grade 2 or 3 OA and pain, with a minimum score of 50 mm (range 0 to 10 mm) in the visual analogic scale (VAS) for pain. The investigational product (n=60) or placebo (n=60) was taken once daily, and subjects were assessed at baseline (T0, pre-treatment) and after a follow-up period of 6 months (T1).Both groups were comparable at baseline. Compared to placebo, changes in VAS, Lequesne algofunctional index (LAI), C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) after six months of treatment, were significant lower in the group of patients taking the active product. No adverse effects were reported during the study.The HC improved the osteoarticular pain and physical function in patients with knee OA. Furthermore, it was well tolerated and satisfactory; and showed adequate results in terms of safety and acceptability of HC. The food supplement may be complementary of drug therapy in knee osteoarthritis. (AU)

A Combination of Lactoplantibacillus plantarum Strains CECT7527, CECT7528, and CECT7529 Plus Monacolin K Reduces Blood Cholesterol: Results from a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study.

BACKGROUND: Dietary supplements have been proposed to help manage blood cholesterol, including red yeast rice (RYR) extracts, plant sterols and stanols, beta-glucans, and some probiotics. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of RYR (containing 10 mg of monacolin K) combined with 109 CFU of three Lactoplantibacillus plantarum strains (CECT7527, CECT7528, and CECT7529). METHODS: A 12-week randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted. In total, 39 adult patients were enrolled, having total cholesterol (TC) ≥200 mg/dL, and being statin-naïve or having recently stopped statin treatment because of intolerance. Active product or placebo were taken once daily, and subjects were evaluated at baseline, 6, and 12 weeks. RESULTS: Study groups were comparable at baseline, except for history of recent hypercholesterolemia treatment (81% in active vs. 22% in placebo). Changes in LDL cholesterol and TC became significant compared to placebo (mean difference between groups and standard error of the mean = 23.6 ± 1.5 mg/dL, p = 0.023 and 31.4 ± 1.9 mg/dL, p = 0.011, respectively) upon adjusting for the baseline imbalance in hypercholesterolemia treatment. No adverse effects were noted during the study. CONCLUSION: This combination of 10 mg of monacolin K and L. plantarum strains was well tolerated and achieved a statistically significant greater reduction in LDL-C and TC in the intervention group compared to the placebo, once adjusting for recent history of hypercholesterolemia treatment.

Antiproliferative Properties of Oleuropein in Human Osteosarcoma Cells.

In this study, we evaluated the antiproliferative activity on two human osteosarcoma cell lines (MG-63 and Saos2) of oleuropein, an olive oil compound traditionally found in the Mediterranean diet. Oleuropein exhibited obvious cytotoxic effects on human osteosarcoma cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Statistical analysis of IC50 by the Probit regression method suggested that oleuropein had similar toxic effects on both cell lines tested (IC50 range from 247.4-475.0 µM for MG63 cells and from 798.7-359.9 µM for Saos2 cells).

Altered release of chemokines by phagocytes from fibromyalgia patients: a pilot study.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a syndrome characterized by widespread chronic pain and is associated with elevated systemic inflammatory biomarkers, and an elevated innate cellular response. The aim of this study was to determine if fibromyalgia patients have altered ability to release pro-inflammatory chemokines by isolated neutrophils and monocytes. The study participants were women diagnosed with FM (n = 6) and a control group of healthy women (HW) (n = 6). Supernatant concentrations of eotaxin (CCL11), human macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC) (CCL22) and growth regulated-oncogene (GRO-α) (CXCL1) released by both monocytes and neutrophils either resting or stimulated by LPS were determined by ELISA and compared between the FM and HW groups. Both resting and activated monocytes from FM patients released more eotaxin, MDC and GRO-α than those from HW. However, there were no significant differences in the release of chemokines from neutrophils of FM patients and the ones from healthy women. In conclusion, monocytes from women with FM are deregulated, releasing higher amounts of eotaxin, MDC and GRO-α than healthy individuals. This fact does not occur in neutrophils from women with FM.

Greater Calcium Intake is Associated with Better Bone Health Measured by Quantitative Ultrasound of the Phalanges in Pediatric Patients Treated with Anticonvulsant Drugs.

We aimed to investigate and compare the effects of chronic antiepileptic therapy on bone health in pediatric patients using quantitative ultrasound of the phalanges (QUS) and controlling for potential confounding factors, particularly nutrient intake. The amplitude-dependent speed of sound (Ad-SoS) was measured in 33 epileptic children and 32 healthy children aged 6.5 ± 3.1 and 6.3 ± 1.1 (mean ± SD) years, respectively. There were no significant differences in the demographics such as age, weight and height between epileptic children and the control group children. None of the children in the epileptic or the treatment group were found to have a vitamin D deficiency. There were no significant differences in laboratory tests between groups. Lower QUS figures were found in the epileptic children (p = 0.001). After further adjustment for potential confounders such age, height, weight, calcium intake, vitamin D intake, physical activity and sex, the differences remained significant (p < 0.001). After further classification of the participants based on the tertile of calcium intake, no significant differences were found between patients and healthy controls in the greatest tertile of calcium intake (p = 0.217). We conclude that anticonvulsant therapy using valproate may lead to low bone mass in children and that an adequate intake of calcium might counteract such deleterious effects.