Research & Development In Brief

UC-II more effective than glucosamine plus chondroitin: Undernatured type II collagen, an emerging novel nutraceutical, more effectively eases osteoarthritis pain than glucosamine plus chondroitin, according to a study in the October issue of Internal Journal of Medical Sciences. The study, conducted by researchers including Siba Raychaudhuri at the University of California, Davis, compared the effectiveness of 40 mg UC-II daily to 1,500 mg glucosamine plus 1,200 mg chondroitin daily for three months in 52 people with moderate to severe osteoarthritis. They found UC-II improved subjects' physical function and reduced stiffness and pain 19 percentage points more that glucosamine plus chondroitin, according to the Western Ontario McMaster Osteoarthritis index. Researchers observed similar results with other pain measurement tools. In addition, the study says, people who took UC-II suffered 35 adverse events compared to 58 adverse events related to the glucosamine plus chondroitin supplements