Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip
Authors: Jean-Pierre Pelletier
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2007)

Letters18 December 2007Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or HipJean-Pierre Pelletier, MDJean-Pierre Pelletier, MDFrom the University of Montreal, Osteoarthritis Research Unit, Notre-Dame Hospital, University of Montreal Hospital Centre, Montreal, Quebec H2L 4M1, Canada.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-147-12-200712180-00014 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:The recent meta-analysis on chondroitin sulfate by Reichenbach and colleagues (1) raises many issues related to clinical trials on osteoarthritis. The authors acknowledge that the studies reported in their review are highly heterogeneous in quality, which obviously imposes serious uncertainties to the accuracy of the conclusions drawn. This drawback plagues other meta-analyses in the same field.With regard to the evaluation of the effect of chondroitin sulfate on osteoarthritis symptoms, the review brings up the issue of the great heterogeneity of the patient population included in the studies. Patient response to treatment is known to vary in ...References1. Reichenbach S, Sterchi R, Scherer M, Trelle S, Bürgi E, Bürgi U, et al. Meta-analysis: chondroitin for osteoarthritis of the knee or hip. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146:580-90. [PMID: 17438317] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Clegg DO, Reda DJ, Harris CL, Klein MA, O'Dell JR, Hooper MM, et al. Glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and the two in combination for painful knee osteoarthritis. N Engl J Med. 2006;354:795-808. [PMID: 16495392] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Michel BA, Stucki G, Frey D, De Vathaire F, Vignon E, Bruehlmann P, et al. Chondroitins 4 and 6 sulfate in osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized, controlled trial. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52:779-86. [PMID: 15751094] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Kahan A, Reginster JY, Vignon E. STOPP (STudy on Osteoarthritis Progression Prevention): a new two-year trial with chondroitin 4&6 sulfate (CS) [Abstract]. Accessed at www.ibsa-ch.com/eular_2006_amsterdam_vignon-2.pdf on 18 September 2006. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Jean-Pierre Pelletier, MDAffiliations: From the University of Montreal, Osteoarthritis Research Unit, Notre-Dame Hospital, University of Montreal Hospital Centre, Montreal, Quebec H2L 4M1, Canada.Disclosures: Dr. Pelletier is a consultant for Bioiberica, Barcelona, Spain. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoMeta-analysis: Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip Stephan Reichenbach , Rebekka Sterchi , Martin Scherer , Sven Trelle , Elizabeth Bürgi , Ulrich Bürgi , Paul A. Dieppe , and Peter Jüni Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip Michael D. Levin Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip Sven Trelle , Stephan Reichenbach , and Peter Jüni Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip Harley Goldberg , Andrew Avins , and Stephen Bent Metrics 18 December 2007Volume 147, Issue 12 Page: 883-884 Keywords Chondroitin Clinical trials Conflicts of interest Drugs Hip Knees Osteoarthritis Patients Sulfates ePublished: 18 December 2007 Issue Published: 18 December 2007 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2007 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...