Glucosamine

Glucosamine is a dietary supplement that has been shown to promote bone and joint health. Because of these benefits, glucosamine is regularly recommended to people who suffer from osteoarthritis. There are three different types of glucosamine: Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Glucosamine Sulfate, and N-acetylglucosamine. Glucosamine Sulfate is the only form to be shown effective in relieving joint pain in clinical tests.

- glucosamine is found naturally in the human body, most notably in the synovial fluid that surrounds joints - it is also found in the exoskeletons of arthropods including the shells of shellfish, which is often where glucosamine is harvested - glucosamine can also be made in a laboratory
 * ORIGIN**

-glucosamine is usually taken as a pill -At least 1500 mg of glucosamine is recommended each day to be effective -Typical cost of glucosamine is 50-75 cents per daily dosage -Can be purchased at any drug store or store that sells vitamins and supplements -This supplement is not banned by the NCAA or the IOC
 * FORM** **and COST**

- Glucosamine, or C 6 H 13 NO 5 is made up of 6 carbon atoms, 13 hydrogen atoms 1 Nitrogen atom, and 5 oxygen atoms. This molecule is classefied as an amino sugar which is found in the exoskeletons of crustaceans
 * Scientific Research of Glucosamine**

-One study that was published in The Lancet in 2001 was done to see the long term effects that glucosamine has on patients with osteoarthritis and the results were promising. In this controlled trial there were two groups, a control group given a placebo and the experimental group given 1500 mg of glucosamine daily for three years. Before and after the study they measured the joint space at the tibiofemoral joint to see how much joint space was lost over the three years. In the group given the placebo they saw a narrowing of joint space with a mean joint space loss of .31 mm. In the group given the glucosamine the joint space loss was not nearly as drastic. The mean joint space loss was just .06 mm over the three years. The conclusion they drew was that glucosamine may be able to be used as both a symptom modifying and structure modifying substance against osteoarthritis.

-X-ray of a patient with osteoarthritis (below)

-Another study from the British Journal of Sports Medicine was published in 2002 on how people with regular knee pain responded to glucosamine over a 12 week period. This study was done with a combination of subjects with knee pain that may have been from previous cartilage damage or from osteoarthritis. There was a control group given a placebo and a group given 2000 mg of glucosamine daily. This study used a combination on functional tests and subjective questionnaires to analyze both knee functional ability and knee pain. The functional tests improved with both groups with out seeing a significant difference in either group. The pain questionnaires heavily favored the group given the glucosamine. 88 percent of participants given glucosamine said they saw some degree of improvement of knee pain over the 12 weeks but only 17 percent of the placebo group said they saw improvement. The conclusion they drew was that glucosamine can have some benefit in both knee functionality and knee pain. At a dosage of 2000 mg per day they saw most results after 8 weeks.


 * References**

Medline Plus. “Glucosamine Sulfate” US National Library of Medicine. [|__https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/807.html__]

Dr [|Jean Yves Reginster] , MD, [|Rita Deroisy] , PhD [|a] , [|Lucio C Rovati] , MD [|c] , [|Richard L Lee] , MSc [|d] , [|Eric Lejeune] , PhD [|a] , [|__Olivier Bruyere__] , PhD [|a] , [|Giampaolo Giacovelli] , PhD [|c] , [|Yves Henrotin] , PhD [|a] , [|Jane E Dacre] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">, MD [|d] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">, [|Christiane Gossett] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">, MD.”Long-term effects of glucosamine sulphate on osteoarthritis progression: a randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial”. The Lancet volume 357, Januar <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">y [|__2001____http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673600036102__]

[|R Braham], [|B Dawson] , [|C Goodman]. “ The effect of glucosamine supplementation on people experiencing regular knee pain”. Br J Sports Med. 2003 [|__http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/37/1/45.full__]

[|__http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.390201.html__]