Low selenium linked to higher risk of osteoarthritis

nospam@example.com (Sultan H. Rahaman, M.D.) — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 12:17:53 -0700

Breaking News on Supplements & Nutrition - Europe

11/14/2005- Insufficient levels of selenium may raise the risk of knee osteoarthritis, US researchers will report tomorrow.

A team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that for every additional tenth of a part per million of selenium in volunteers' bodies, there was a 15-20 per cent decrease in their risk of knee osteoarthritis.

The work, based on data gathered from 940 participants, is thought to be the first to link the trace mineral to joint health. Arthritis severity was directly related to how low selenium levels were.

"Our results suggest that we might be able to prevent or delay osteoarthritis of the knees and possibly other joints in some people if they are not getting enough selenium,” said study leader Dr Joanne Jordan.

The findings, to be presented in San Diego tomorrow at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, could be particularly important for populations in Europe. Research published in 2002 revealed that selenium levels in British bread-making wheats are 10 to 50 times lower than in their American or Canadian counterparts, owing to reduced levels of the mineral in UK soil and lower pollution. Daily intake of the mineral is therefore often lower than the recommended amount in Britain.

At the same time, incidence of osteoarthritis is rising in most developed countries in conjunction with an ageing population and obesity, a major risk factor for osteoarthritis of the knee. The UK currently has the eighth highest obesity rate in the world. In the past year, more than 2 million Britons visited their GP because of osteoarthritis.

The US team first suspected that selenium might play a role in preventing osteoarthritis after observing that in severely selenium-deficient areas of China, people frequently develop Kashin-Beck disease, which causes joint problems relatively early in life.

They selected pariticipants in the major Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project, and divided them into three groups based on the selenium levels measured in toenail clippings.

Those with the highest selenium levels faced a 40 per cent lower risk of knee osteoarthritis than those in the lowest-selenium group.

"Those in the highest selenium group had only about half the chance of severe osteoarthritis or disease in both knees. Some of the findings were even stronger in African-Americans and women," said Jordan.

She added that there appears to be a clear relationship between selenium and osteoarthritis. The mechanism behind this link needs to be further investigated in the laboratory but the researchers believe the mineral might act as a protective antioxidant.

"Later, we'll want to expand the study with larger samples and see whether selenium supplementation reduces pain or other symptoms," added Jordan.

Copyright - Unless otherwise stated all contents of this web site are © 2000/2005 – Decision News Media SAS – All Rights Reserved. For permission to reproduce any contents of this web site, please email our Syndication department: contact our Syndication department. Full details for the use of materials on this site can be found in the Terms & Conditions.

AmeriSciences Men's and Women's Master Multi contain Selenium. AmeriSciences Joint Ease is an excellent product for Osetoarthritis.

Find these products at www.amerisciencesproducts.com

Nutraceuticals Gain Favor for Treatment of Osteoarthritis

nospam@example.com (Sultan H. Rahaman, M.D.) — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 13:00:56 -0700

January 15 2003 • Volume 33 • Number 2

Clinical Rounds

Nutraceuticals Gain Favor for Treatment of Osteoarthritis Glucosamine, chondroitin

Michele G. Sullivan
Mid-Atlantic Bureau

ORLANDO, FLA. — Dismissed a decade ago as “snake oil,” glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate have gained respect as treatments for osteoarthritis, Dr. David Hungerford, said at a symposium on hip and knee arthroplasty sponsored by the Current Concepts Institute.

These nutritional supplements are safe and chondroprotective, said Dr. Hungerford, an orthopedic surgeon at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.

A 1999 study that followed 199 patients being treated for osteoarthritis of the hand found that, over 3 years, 8% of those who took chondroitin sulfate developed new joint lesions as compared to 29% of the control group.

A 2-year study published in 2001 examined the radiographic outcomes of 210 patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Patients taking chondroitin sulfate showed no joint changes, while those on placebo showed significant joint space narrowing.

Another 2-year, placebo-controlled study published in 2001 found that patients who had knee osteoarthritis and took glucosamine experienced increased function, less pain, and less joint-space narrowing than patients who did not take the supplement.

Dr. Hungerford offered one caveat to these findings: The chondroitin and glucosamine products used in clinical studies contain optimum amounts of the active ingredients. Among nutritional supplements available to consumers, it can be difficult to find a brand that contains the optimum amount of active ingredients.

A recent study of 32 brands of glucosamine showed that 17 had less than 50% of the level of active ingredients claimed on the label and that some of those brands had no active ingredient at all.

“It's important to guide patients to products whose ingredients have been thoroughly tested,” he said.

I recommend AmeriSciences Joint Ease.
Visit www.amerisciencesproducts.com . Look under Products/Preventative Nutrition.

Wellness for Life Center AmeriSciences Blog - Joint Pain & Osteoarthritis

Low selenium linked to higher risk of osteoarthritis

Nutraceuticals Gain Favor for Treatment of Osteoarthritis