1: Am Fam Physician. 2003 Jan 15;67(2):339-44.
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Alternative therapies for traditional disease states: osteoarthritis.
Morelli V, Naquin C, Weaver V.
Family Practice Residency Program, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Kenner, Louisiana 70065, USA.
Americans spend more on natural remedies for osteoarthritis than for any other medical condition. In treating osteoarthritis, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, two of the molecular building blocks found in articular cartilage, are the most commonly used alternative supplements. In randomized trials of variable quality, these compounds show efficacy in reducing symptoms, but neither has been shown to arrest progression of the disease or regenerate damaged cartilage. Although few clinical trials on S-adenosylmethionine exist, preliminary evidence indicates that it relieves pain to a degree similar to that of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs but with fewer side effects. Clinical trials of dimethyl sulfoxide offer conflicting results. Neither ginger nor cetyl myristoleate has proven clinical usefulness.
Publication Types:
- Review
- Review, Tutorial
PMID: 12562155 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
1: Pharmacol Res. 2003 Jan;47(1):43-7. Related Articles, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Display&dopt=pubmed_pubmed&from_uid=12526860
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Synthesis of cetyl myristoleate and evaluation of its therapeutic efficacy in a murine model of collagen-induced arthritis.
Hunter KW Jr, Gault RA, Stehouwer JS, Tam-Chang SW.
Department of Microbiology, University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno, NV 89557, USA. Hunter KW Jr
Cetyl myristoleate (CM) was reported by Diehl and May [J Pharm Sci 83 (1994) 296] to block inflammation and prevent adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats. To verify this earlier work, we have synthesized pure CM and tested its anti-arthritic properties in a collagen-induced arthritis model in DBA/1LacJ mice. Multiple intraperitoneal injections of CM in 450 and 900 mg kg(-1) doses resulted in a significantly lower incidence of disease and caused a modest but significant diminution in clinical signs in those mice that developed arthritis. CM administered in daily oral doses of 20 mg kg(-1) also reduced the incidence of arthritis and caused a small reduction in the clinical signs in mice that developed arthritis. Although the protective effect of CM in collagen-induced arthritis observed in the present study was less dramatic than that reported earlier, our results confirm the anti-arthritic properties of pure CM.
PMID: 12526860 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
1: J Rheumatol. 2002 Aug;29(8):1708-12. Related Articles, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Display&dopt=pubmed_pubmed&from_uid=12180734
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Cetylated fatty acids improve knee function in patients with osteoarthritis.
Hesslink R Jr, Armstrong D 3rd, Nagendran MV, Sreevatsan S, Barathur R.
Hesslink Ventures, San Diego, California, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the benefit of cetylated fatty acids (CFA) on knee range of motion and function in patients with osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: Sixty-four patients with chronic knee OA were evaluated at baseline and at 30 and 68 days after consuming either placebo (vegetable oil; n = 31) or CFA (Celadrin; n = 33). Evaluations included physician assessment, knee range of motion with goniometry, and the Lequesne Algofunctional Index (LAI). RESULTS: After 68 days, patients treated with CFA exhibited significant (p < 0.001) increase in knee flexion (10.1 degrees) compared to patients given placebo (1.1 degrees). Neither group reported improvement in knee extension. Patient responses to the LAI indicated a significant (p < 0.001) shift towards functional improvement for the CFA group (-5.4 points) after 68 days compared to a modest improvement in the placebo group (-2.1 points). CONCLUSION: Compared to placebo, CFA provides an improvement in knee range of motion and overall function in patients with OA of the knee. CFA may be an alternative to the use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs for the treatment of OA.
Publication Types:
- Clinical Trial
- Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 12180734 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
1: J Rheumatol. 2001 Jan;28(1):185-91. Related Articles, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Display&dopt=pubmed_pubmed&from_uid=11196523
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- J Rheumatol. 2001 Jan;28(1):1-2. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11196508
Surfing the Net--information on the World Wide Web for persons with arthritis: patient empowerment or patient deceit?
Suarez-Almazor ME, Kendall CJ, Dorgan M.
Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Health Services, Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. mes@bcm.tmc.edu
OBJECTIVE: In the past few years access to the Internet has become readily available. Patients are increasingly seeking and obtaining health information through the Internet, most often the World Wide Web (WWW). We assessed the content, authorship, and scope of the information available on WWW in relation to rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: In an attempt to replicate use by the average person, a broad search of the Internet was conducted for the phrase "rheumatoid arthritis" using WebCrawler, a commonly used search engine. All the "hits" were critically assessed after visiting and collecting information from the respective Web sites in relation to relevance, scope, authorship, type of publication, and financial objectives. RESULTS: The search returned 537 hits. We evaluated 531-2 did not exist, 2 could not be contacted, one was not in English, and one required a membership to access. The 531 hits originated from 388 Web sites. Only 198 (51%) were considered to be relevant and 7 (2%) were of doubtful relevance. Thirty-four (17%) were posted by an individual, 57 (28%) by a nonprofit organization, 104 (51%) by a profit industry, and 10 (5%) by universities. Ninety-one (44%) promoted alternative therapies, the most common including cetyl-myristoleate, colloidal minerals, Pycnogenol, shark cartilage, and Tahitian Noni. Of the 107 sites with financial interests, 76 (71%) promoted alternative medicine. The first 100 hits only identified about a third of the nonprofit organizations or university owned Web pages. CONCLUSION: Many sites easily accessed by consumers appear to be profit based companies advertising an alternative product claimed to be effective for many conditions. These findings emphasize the need for critical evaluation of Web site contents.
Publication Types:
- Evaluation Studies
PMID: 11196523 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
: J Pharm Sci. 1994 Mar;83(3):296-9. Related Articles, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Display&dopt=pubmed_pubmed&from_uid=8207671
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Cetyl myristoleate isolated from Swiss albino mice: an apparent protective agent against adjuvant arthritis in rats.
Diehl HW, May EL.
Department of Pharmacology, Medical College of Virginia, Richmond 23298.
Cetyl myristoleate was isolated from National Institutes of Health, general purpose, Swiss albino mice that were immune to the polyarthritis induced in rats with Freund's adjuvant. This substance, or material synthesized from cetyl alcohol and myristoleic acid, afforded good protection against adjuvant-induced arthritic states in rats. In limited comparisons, cetyl oleate, also found in Swiss albino mice, gave lesser protection, whereas cetyl myristate and cetyl elaidate, the trans-isomer of cetyl oleate, appeared to be virtually ineffective. Dosage of the protective compound as well as the site of injection of Freund's adjuvant was important.
PMID: 8207671 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
