This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (20)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related letter  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Diabetes Mellitus  • Osteoarthritis  • Randomized Controlled Trial  • Complementary and Alternative Medicine  • Alert me on articles by topic

A Placebo-Controlled, Double-blinded, Randomized Clinical Trial

Daren A. Scroggie, MD; Allison Albright, MD; Mark D. Harris, MD

Arch Intern Med. 2003;163:1587-1590.

Background  With increasing use of glucosamine-containing supplements for the treatment of osteoarthritis, there is increasing concern in the medical community about possible toxic effects. The present study was undertaken to determine whether glucosamine supplementation altered hemoglobin A_1c concentrations in patients with well-controlled diabetes mellitus.

Objective  To evaluate possible effects of glucosamine supplementation on glycemic control in a selected population of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Design  Placebo-controlled, double-blinded, randomized clinical trial.

Setting  Outpatient, diabetes monitoring clinic.

Patients  Patients were typically elderly patients, evenly divided between men and women. Most of the patients were being treated with 1 or 2 drugs for glycemic control.

Intervention  In daily doses for 90 days, patients received either placebo or a combination of 1500 mg of glucosamine hydrochloride with 1200 mg of chondroitin sulfate (Cosamin DS; Nutramax Laboratories Inc, Edgewood, Md).

Main Outcome Measure  Hemoglobin A_1c levels before and after 90 days of therapy.

Results  There were 4 withdrawals from the glucosamine-treated group. Three were related to comorbidities (myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and atrial fibrillation) and 1 to a possible adverse reaction (excessive flatus). No other patient reported any adverse effects of glucosamine therapy, and no patient had any change in their diabetes management. Mean hemoglobin A_1c concentrations were not significantly different between groups prior to glucosamine therapy. Posttreatment hemoglobin A_1c concentrations were not significantly different between groups, nor were there any significant differences within groups before and after treatment.

Conclusion  This study demonstrates that oral glucosamine supplementation does not result in clinically significant alterations in glucose metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

From the Department of Rheumatology, 59th Medical Wing, Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Lackland, Tex, and the Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md. The authors have no relevant financial interest in this article.

RELATED LETTER

Can Glucosamine Supplements Be Applied for All Patients With Type 2 Diabetes With Osteoarthritis?
Rajeev K. Jain and Joseph C. McCormick
Arch Intern Med. 2004;164(7):807.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

The Effect of Glucosamine on Serum HDL Cholesterol and Apolipoprotein AI Levels in People With Diabetes
Albert et al.
Diabetes Care 2007;30:2800-2803.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Effects of oral glucosamine sulphate on serum glucose and insulin during an oral glucose tolerance test of subjects with osteoarthritis
Biggee et al.
Ann Rheum Dis 2007;66:260-262.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Effect of Glucosamine on Glucose Control
Stumpf and Lin
The Annals of Pharmacotherapy 2006;40:694-698.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Can Glucosamine Supplements Be Applied for All Patients With Type 2 Diabetes With Osteoarthritis?
Jain and McCormick
Arch Intern Med 2004;164:807-807.
FULL TEXT