By: Richard Stenlake, Compounding Chemist
Article used with permission.
Richard Stenlake is a registered pharmacist who owns the
largest compounding pharmacy in Australia. Over many years
he has pioneered the introduction of innovative medication
ideas to the Australian market.
Arthritis is a degenerative joint disease that causes pain,
inflammation and limited joint movement.
In osteoarthritis the joint that is affected has degenerated
cartilage. As this is the cushion between the joints, one
gets bone rubbing against bone and thus pain, inflammation
and lack of mobility follows. Up until now the only relief
from this pain was by way of treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs (e.g. brufen, orudis) or by injection with steroids
(e.g. cortisone). However, these only mask the symptoms and
relieve the pain, and the disease continues to get worse.
Thus, the spiral continues increasing the dose as the pain
worsens. However here we create another problem as these drugs
have deleterious side effects and may in fact cause certain
features of osteoarthritis to progress faster.
Thus over the years the only relief that may be obtained
is joint replacement by your surgeon. Even with artificial
joints, the problem is not solved as these too have a finite
life and will have to be replaced further down the road.
A NEW APPROACH
In the last few years, excellent results have been
achieved with a combination of natural nutritional supplements.
In many cases these have been able to slow and eventually
eliminate disease. This approach includes a combination of
glucosamine and chrondroiton sulfate. These are substances
we already consume and are produced in small amounts in our
bodies and as such have no known side effects. There has been
extensive study done on them, which has proved that both glucosamine
and chondroitan work in both humans and animals.
WHAT IS GLUCOSAMINE AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
Firstly, healthy cartilage needs three things: water for
lubrication and nourishment, proteoglycans to attract and
hold the water, and collagen to keep the proteoglycans in
Proteoglycans are like a rope that threads itself through
the collage and are essential as they hold many times their
own weight of water, which both lubricates and nourishes the
collagen. If the cartilage is damaged the thread of rope becomes
weak and ‘leaks’ out and thus the collagen loses
its nourishment as the proteoglycans lose their grip and float
away. Thus the cartilage cannot withstand shocks, cracks and
may wear out completely.
Glucosamine is a major building block of the water–loving proteoglycans. Besides being a building block for the
synthesis of proteoglycans, its mere presence acts as a stimulus
to the cells that produce proteoglycans. In fact glucosamine
is a key factor in determining how many proteoglycans are
produced by the cells.
Glucosamine has been shown to speed up production of both
proteoglycans and collagen and it normalises cartilage metabolism
which helps keep cartilage from breaking down.
Thus the affect of glucosamine on cartilage metabolism
helps the body to repair damaged or eroded cartilage.
In other words, glucosamine strengthens your body’s
natural repair mechanisms. Besides stimulating cartilage production, glucosamine also
reduces joint pain and inflammation.
Where glucosamine helps form the proteoglycans that sit
within the space in the cartilage, chrondroiton sulfate acts
like ‘liquid magnets’. Chrondroiton is a long
chain of repeating nigans that attracts fluid into the proteoglycan
This is important for two reasons: The fluid acts as a spongy shock absorber and
the fluid sweeps the nutrients into the cartilage. Joint cartilage
has no blood supply thus all of its nourishment and lubrication
comes from the fluid that ebbs and flows as pressure is applied
and released to the joint. Without this fluid, cartilage
becomes malnourished, drier, thinner and fragile.
HOW CHONDROITON SULFATE WORKS
Chondoiton Sulfate is a long chain molecule with
a negative charge attached to it. As these chains wrap around
proteoglycans they repel each other and thus create spaces
between each proteoglycan. These are what are known as matrixes
within the cartilage and this is where the fluid flows. There
may be as many as 10,000 of these chains on a single proteoglycan
molecule – thus we have a super water retainer as these
chains make sure all these molecules are away from each other
and cannot clump together. Besides drawing in precious fluid, chrondroiton
protects cartilage, stops it from breaking down and inhibits
certain ‘cartilage chewing’ enzymes.
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Be sure to visit the Glucosamine Product Guide for a review of commercially available glucosamine products.