Efficacy still uncertain for widely used supplements for arthritis.

摘要

WHILE RESEARCHERS CON-tiiiue to search for drugs targeting the cartilage loss that occurs with osteoarthritis, many patients with this condition and other causes of joint pain are emptying drug store shelves of the over-the-counter dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate. An estimated 1 million people take these products regularly, spending between 800 and dollar1000 per person per year, said Marc Hochberg, MD, MPH, of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, in Baltimore.