Is chondroitin sulfate effective for osteoarthritis?

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is the most prevalent chronic articular disease, in which pain is one of the main symptoms and the major determinant of functional loss. Several therapeutic options have been proposed, including chondroitin sulfate, but its actual usefulness has not yet been established. To answer this question we searched in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening multiple information sources. We identified 13 systematic reviews including 50 randomized trials overall. We extracted data, conducted a meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings table using the GRADE approach. We concluded it is not clear whether the use of chondroitin sulfate leads to an improvement in pain or functionality in osteoarthritis because the certainty of the evidence is very low.

• Authors: Valentina Rojas-Briones, Stephanie Harrison-Muñoz, Sebastián Irarrázaval
• Journal: Medwave (Medwave) Vol. 17 Issue Suppl2 Pg. e6929 (Apr 26 2017) ISSN: 0717-6384 [Electronic] Chile
• Vernacular Title: ¿Es efectivo el condroitín sulfato para el tratamiento de la artrosis?
• PMID: 28452976 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Meta-Analysis)

Chemical References

• Chondroitin Sulfates

Topics

• Chondroitin Sulfates (therapeutic use)
• Databases, Factual
• Humans
• Osteoarthritis (drug therapy, physiopathology)
• Pain (drug therapy, etiology)
• Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic