The first symptoms of osteoarthritis usually occur in middle-age or later, whereas rheumatoid arthritis may strike someone in their 20s or 30s. Rheumatoid arthritis is associated with inflammation in the joints, and osteoarthritis is mostly associated with joint degeneration. Studies show that most people in their 60s have some degree of osteoarthritis, although they may not have symptoms. Almost all of the arthritis studies done with SAMe involve osteoarthritis. This suggests that SAMe treatment may reverse the underlying process of osteoarthritis by stimulating cartilage to grow.
Cartilage acts like a spongy cushion where bone meets bone at the joint.
In osteoarthritis, this cushion gradually disintegrates. The other main component of the joint is synovial fluid, which acts as a lubricant. The cancer-killing cytokine, TNF, has been found in the synovial fluid of people with rheumatoid arthritis, and it plays a role in bone and cartilage destruction. Until recently, scientists did not know the effects of SAMe on synovial fluid. In 1987, the American Journal of Medicine published a series of articles on the use of SAMe for treating osteoarthritis.