Randomised, Double-Blind, Parallel, Placebo-Controlled Study of Oral Glucosamine, Methylsulfonylmethane and their Combination in Osteoarthritis

Usha PR, Naidu MU · Clinical Drug Investigation

Both MSM and glucosamine reduced pain and swelling versus placebo, and the combination reduced the pain index more than either alone (from 1.7 to 0.36 vs 0.9-1.0 on monotherapy).

Population

Adults with mild-to-moderate knee osteoarthritis, India

Intervention

MSM 500 mg three times daily, glucosamine 500 mg three times daily, or both, for 12 weeks

Comparator

Placebo

Limitations

Single-centre; low MSM dose relative to other trials; sizeable dropout (about 30 of 118 not completing); scale used is nonstandard.