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Chondroitin sulfate seems as effective for knee osteoarthritis as widely used celecoxib

BMJ 2017; 357 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j2515 (Published 24 May 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;357:j2515
  1. Ingrid Torjesen
  1. London

Pharmaceutical grade chondroitin sulfate is as effective as the widely prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) celecoxib (Celebrex) for treating painful knee osteoarthritis, suggests research published online in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.1

As long term use of high dose NSAIDs/paracetamol is known to be associated with frequent and serious side effects, the researchers have called for chondroitin sulfate to be used for long term treatment of osteoarthritis, particularly in older people.

The study included 604 patients from five European countries who had symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and were randomly assigned to one of three daily treatments and then monitored for …

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