A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial of intravenous loading with S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) followed by oral SAM therapy in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Bradley JD, Flusser D, Katz BP, Schumacher HR Jr, Brandt KD, Chambers MA, Zonay LJ · The Journal of Rheumatology

At the site where patients had milder disease and the arms were well matched at baseline, the SAMe group had a significantly greater reduction in overall pain and rest pain (p < 0.05); at the other site, where disease was more severe and randomisation produced markedly different groups, the arms did not separate. Onset appeared as early as 14 days.

Population

81 patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis at two centres, after a 7-day washout of arthritis medication

Intervention

Intravenous S-adenosylmethionine 400 mg daily for 5 days, then 200 mg orally three times daily for 23 days

Comparator

Matching placebo regimen

Limitations

Eighty-one patients split across two sites, and the result depends on which site is read — failed randomisation at one of them is the authors' own explanation. The intravenous loading phase means the regimen is not one anybody can take at home. Full text was not retrievable.