Cartilage Mechanics -- Loss and Regeneration?
Cartilage is the material that makes joints "work." Where two bones come together, such as the KNEE, you have several bones meeting at the knee. If the bones just touched other bones, you would have terrible wear and tear, so the body is designed to have a softer surface -- cartilage -- that can keep the bone from touching bone. The bones, then, touch cartilage and the cartilage is rather slippery and allows bones to move without damage to the bone.
Click Here for a thorough explanation of the different types of cartilage. While some of this reference is very technical, the early part of the page is simple and straightforward.
Traditionally doctors believe that cartilage cannot be "repaired" when it is worn or damaged. There is one technique under investigation:
Although cartilage in unable to repair itself on its own, advanced FDA-approved technology allows cartilage cells, know as chondrocytes to be harvested from your knee and cultured and multiplied. The fresh chondrocytes are then reimplanted in your knee and cause hyaline cartilage to regenerate. This biological repair is known as ACI. When you successfully complete ACI and rehabilitation, you should be able to resume all normal activities, including sports. Source and source below
For many years, now, the alternative health market has included a claim that "glucosamine" can either prevent cartilage damage, or even reverse it. Click here for one such commercial product.
One of the most common areas for cartilage problems would be in the sports world. Obviously, then, there would be developed "cartilage repair" formulas to appeal to sports people. Here is a commercial example one.
Click Here for a study that mentions "glucosamine" and makes reference to cartilage repair through its use. As more and more studies like these are done, the "alternative health world" tends to stay ahead of them, but also to be supported BY THEM.
Usually studies are not bold enough to say that something can be CURED, but it is safer to say that something can be prevented. Click Here for a study that shows:
Together these observations likely suggest that glucosamine suppresses the neutrophil functions, thereby possibly exhibiting anti-inflammatory actions in arthritis.
Here is another study showing that glucosamine is just as effective as ibuprofen for pain relief in arthritis. Ibuprofen, of course, has many harmful side effects, whereas glucosamine does not.
I have included both glucosamine and Chondroitin in my bone-building formula -- Bone Dense Calcium. I also included MSM, not so much for pain relief, but for its ability to "carry" other substances more efficiently through the body and to where they can be effectively used.
Since glucosamine is, indeed, found to be a component of healthy cartilage tissue (and MSM is not) it is probably fair to conclude that glucosamine, not MSM, could lead to improved health of cartilage. Whether the cartilage is "regenerated" or not, I believe is a valid conclusion based on the research referenced here. I would feel much safer using glucosamine and Chondroitin for cartilage health than any drug or surgical procedure.
Karl Loren
Here is an interesting claim for regeneration. I have not checked this out, but click on "source" and visit this web site.
SWEDISH CARTILAGE REGENERATION
" Strengthen bones and help repair
damaged tissue surrounding joints"
This is an advanced formula engineered for athletes and people with cartilage and arthritic conditions. Age and sports place extra pressure and stress on joints causing cartilage degradation pain and reduced mobility.
INGREDIENTS:
A synergistic formulation of
glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, collagen
II, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, L-
glutamine and taurine, to help regenerate
cartilage growth.
This product contains Avian Cartilage (
Highest absorption rate - up to 400% higher
compared to other cartilage products, e.g
shark ) This stimulates synthesis and
inhibits the degradation of cartilage
reducing inflammation and relieving pain.
Strengthens bones and repairs damaged muscle
tissue surrounding joints.
DIRECTIONS FOR USE: Mix 5gms ( 1 heaped teaspoon ) into 200mls of fruit juice. For best results take 2-3 times per day with meals.
Available in 500gm size Citrus flavor
| : Med Hypotheses 1998 Jun;50(6):507-10 |
Enhanced
synovial production of hyaluronic acid may
explain rapid clinical response to high-dose
glucosamine in osteoarthritis.
McCarty MF.
Nutrition 21, San Diego, CA 92109, USA.
Anecdotal reports of rapid symptomatic
response to high-dose glucosamine in
osteoarthritis are not credibly explained by
the traditional view that glucosamine
promotes synthesis of cartilage proteoglycans.
An alternative or additional possibility is
that glucosamine stimulates synovial
production of hyaluronic acid (HA), which is
primarily responsible for the lubricating and
shock-absorbing properties of synovial fluid.
Many clinical and veterinary studies have
shown that intra-articular injections of
high-molecular-weight HA produce rapid pain
relief and improved mobility in
osteoarthritis. HA has anti-inflammatory and
analgesic properties, and promotes anabolic
behavior in chondrocytes. The concentration
and molecular weight of synovial fluid HA are
decreased in osteoarthritis; by reversing
this abnormality, high-dose glucosamine may
provide rapid symptomatic benefit, and in the
longer term aid the repair of damaged
cartilage.
Publication Types:
-
Review
-
Review, Tutorial
PMID: 9710325 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
| 1: J Leukoc Biol 2002 Apr;71(4):632-40 |
Inhibitory actions of glucosamine, a therapeutic agent for osteoarthritis, on the functions of neutrophils.
Hua J, Sakamoto K, Nagaoka I.
Department of Biochemistry, Juntendo University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. Koyo Chemical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.
Glucosamine, an amino monosaccharide naturally occurring in the connective and cartilage tissues, contributes to maintaining the strength, flexibility, and elasticity of these tissues. In recent years, glucosamine has been used widely to treat osteoarthritis in humans and animal models. Neutrophils, which usually function as the primary defenders in bacterial infections, are also implicated in the destructive, inflammatory responses in arthritis. In this study, we have evaluated the effects of glucosamine on neutrophil functions using human peripheral blood neutrophils. Glucosamine (0.01-1 mM) dose-dependently suppressed the superoxide anion generation induced by formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP) or complement-opsonized zymosan and inhibited the phagocytosis of complement-opsonized zymosan or IgG-opsonized latex particles. Furthermore, glucosamine inhibited the release of granule enzyme lysozyme from phagocytosing neutrophils and suppressed neutrophil chemotaxis toward zymosan-activated serum. In addition, glucosamine inhibited fMLP-induced up-regulation of CD11b significantly, polymerization of actin, and phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). In contrast, N-acetyl-glucosamine, an analogue of glucosamine, did not affect these neutrophil functions (superoxide generation, phagocytosis, granule enzyme release, chemotaxis, CD11b expression, actin polymerization, and p38 MAPK phosphorylation) at the concentrations examined (1-10 mM). Together these observations likely suggest that glucosamine suppresses the neutrophil functions, thereby possibly exhibiting anti-inflammatory actions in arthritis.
PMID: 11927650 [PubMed - in process]
| Br J Community Nurs 2002 Mar;7(3):148-52 |
Glucosamine therapy compared to ibuprofen for
joint pain.
Ruane R, Griffiths P.
Primary Care and Community Pharmacy, King's
College London.
To determine the effectiveness of oral
glucosamine with ibuprofen for the relief of
joint pain in osteoarthritis a mini-review
(Griffiths, 2002) of double-blind randomized
controlled trials comparing the two was
undertaken. The population was adult patients
diagnosed with osteoarthritis at any site.
The outcome was arthritic pain reduction.
Searches on Medline, Embase, AMED, the
Cochrane Library and the Merck index
identified four trials. Of these, two studies
were obtainable and were included in the
review. Both compared 1.2g ibuprofen daily
with 1.5g glucosamine sulphate daily, in
three divided doses. The combined number of
participants in the studies was 218. The
results of these studies showed glucosamine
to be of similar efficacy to ibuprofen. The
conclusion is that glucosamine is effective
in relieving joint pain associated with
osteoarthritis. Glucosamine's pain-relieving
effects may be due to its
cartilage-rebuilding properties; these
disease-modifying effects are not seen with
simple analgesics and are of particular
benefit. In practice glucosamine can be used
as an alternative to anti-inflammatory drugs
and analgesics or as a useful adjunct to
standard analgesic therapy.
PMID: 11904551 [PubMed - in process]
[Structural and functional aspects of oligosaccharides in human milk]. [Article in German]
Kunz C, Rudloff S. Z
Forschungsinstitut fur
Kinderernahrung, Dortmund
About a century ago, pediatricians observed
that in feces of breast-fed infants, compared
to those of bottle-fed infants,
Bifidobacterium bifidum was the predominant
microorganism. It was shown thereafter that
aminosugar-containing oligosaccharides are
growth factors for a specific strain of
Bifidobacterium. Meanwhile, more than 130
lactose-derived oligosaccharides have been
identified in human milk. Some of these
oligosaccharides like Lacto-N-Tetraose and
Lacto-N-Fucopentaose I and R do not occur in
minute amounts but in concentrations up to
1-2 g/L. As the total amount of complex
oligosaccharides is between 3-6 g/L those
components have to be considered as major
human milk constituents. There is striking
evidence that human milk oligosaccharides are
potent inhibitors of bacterial adhesion to
epithelial surfaces, an initial stage of
infective processes. Therefore, these
oligosaccharides are considered to be soluble
receptor analogues of epithelial cell
surfaces participating in the
non-immunological defense system of human
milk-fed infants.
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