[Anti-arthrosis treatments: efficacy and tolerance of chondroitin sulfates (CS 4&6)].

CHONDROPROTECTIVE DRUGS:

Long-acting chondroprotective drugs have a symptomatic effect. They are only effective in subjects with osteoarthritis and have no pure pain relieving effect. They act within several weeks, improve functional manifestations and have a remnant effect. CHONDROITIN SULFATES 4&6: CS 4&6 are glycosaminoglycans which participate in the matrix structure of cartilage. They are well absorbed after oral intake. They have a dose-dependent inhibitor effect in vitro on proteoglycan and collagen catabolism and have been shown to stimulate matrix synthesis. Several clinical studies have demonstrated the chondroprotective efficacy of CS 4&6 in osteoarthritis involving the hip, knee and finger joints.

OSTEOARTHRITIS OF THE KNEE:

A controlled randomized double-blind study versus placebo was conducted in 104 patients with femorotibial osteoarthritis. The objective was to demonstrate that CS 4&6 given orally in a sequential regimen at the dose of 800 mg/d has a beneficial effect both in terms of clinical manifestations and in terms of the anatomic progression in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. The main efficacy criteria was the Lequesne functional score. After 1 year of treatment with CS 4&6, the functional impairment was reduced by approximately 50%, a significant improvement over placebo for all clinical criteria. Tolerance was excellent or good in more than 90% of the cases.

A STRUCTURE MODULATOR:

This study suggests that chondroitin sulfates act as structure modulators as shown by the improvement in the interarticular space visualized on the x-rays of patients treated with CS 4&6.