l-Serine and EPA Relieve Chronic Low-Back and Knee Pain in Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Sasahara I, Yamamoto A, Takeshita M, Suga Y, Suzuki K, Nishikata N, Takada M, Hashimoto M, Mine T, Kobuna Y, Nagao K · The Journal of Nutrition

Japanese Knee Osteoarthritis Measure scores were lower in the active group at weeks 4, 8 and 12 (11.7 against 13.9, 10.4 against 13.1, and 10.3 against 13.8; p ≤ 0.04), and worst, average and movement pain on the Brief Pain Inventory were 11-27% better at weeks 4 and 8. The effect persisted 4 weeks after dosing stopped.

Population

Adults with at least 3 months of both low-back and knee pain, mean age 41

Intervention

594 mg l-serine plus 149 mg EPA daily for 8 weeks

Comparator

Placebo

Limitations

The EPA dose is 149 mg — roughly a twentieth of what the marine-oil OA trials use — and it is given with l-serine, so nothing in the design can attribute the result to EPA. Ajinomoto, which sells the combination, funded the trial and took part in its design, implementation, analysis and interpretation; every author but the clinician is its employee, and the clinician conducted research it funded. Mean age 41 with unspecified radiographic status; this is a pain population, not a diagnosed-OA one. Registered UMIN000035056.