Sean Moloughney10.06.08
A new clinical study indicates that 40 mg of UC-II, a patented type II collagen product from Benicia, CA-based InterHealth Nutraceuticals, reduces osteoarthritic pain as measured by three index scores. These "ground breaking" results were presented at the American College of Nutrition meeting in Arlington, VA, last Friday, October 3rd.
For this randomized, double-blind study of 52 patients, conducted in North America, one group took 40 mg UC-II and the other a combination of glucosamine (1500 mg) + chondroitin (1200 mg). The results indicate UC-II had a significant improvement from baseline on all WOMAC, VAS, and Lequesne measurements over the glucosamine + chondroitin combination.
Both treatments reduced the WOMAC index score, which measures the difficulty in physical function, stiffness and pain in the knee. However, treatment with UC-II was found to be significantly more effective and reduced the WOMAC score by 33% compared to 14% in glucosamine plus chondroitin treated groups after 90 days.
Similar results were obtained for VAS scores. Although both the treatments reduced the VAS score, UC-II was found to be most effective with 40% decrease after 90 days of treatment compared to 15.4% in glucosamine plus chondroitin treated groups.
The Lequesne’s functional index was used to determine the effect of different treatments on pain during daily activities. Treatment with UC-II reduced Lequesne’s functional index score by 20.1% compared to 5.9% in glucosamine plus chondroitin treated groups.
Thus, the UC-II treated group showed improvement in daily activities suggesting an improvement in quality of life. InterHealth CEO Paul Dijkstra said: “What is most significant is that UC-II shows better efficacy with a smaller, once daily, 40 mg dose than the larger 2700 mg dose of the glucosamine + chondroitin combination. With such a small, once daily pill, there will be better compliance and better joint health for millions of people. Our hope is that major supplement companies will want to bring this ingredient to their consumers and promote its effectiveness over glucosamine and chondroitin in joint health. UC-II can be a standalone product or be incorporated into existing joint health, or senior health products.”
The independent study was conducted at KGK Synergize Inc. in Canada with funding from InterHealth Nutraceuticals Inc. The study will also be submitted for publication in the next few weeks.
For this randomized, double-blind study of 52 patients, conducted in North America, one group took 40 mg UC-II and the other a combination of glucosamine (1500 mg) + chondroitin (1200 mg). The results indicate UC-II had a significant improvement from baseline on all WOMAC, VAS, and Lequesne measurements over the glucosamine + chondroitin combination.
Both treatments reduced the WOMAC index score, which measures the difficulty in physical function, stiffness and pain in the knee. However, treatment with UC-II was found to be significantly more effective and reduced the WOMAC score by 33% compared to 14% in glucosamine plus chondroitin treated groups after 90 days.
Similar results were obtained for VAS scores. Although both the treatments reduced the VAS score, UC-II was found to be most effective with 40% decrease after 90 days of treatment compared to 15.4% in glucosamine plus chondroitin treated groups.
The Lequesne’s functional index was used to determine the effect of different treatments on pain during daily activities. Treatment with UC-II reduced Lequesne’s functional index score by 20.1% compared to 5.9% in glucosamine plus chondroitin treated groups.
Thus, the UC-II treated group showed improvement in daily activities suggesting an improvement in quality of life. InterHealth CEO Paul Dijkstra said: “What is most significant is that UC-II shows better efficacy with a smaller, once daily, 40 mg dose than the larger 2700 mg dose of the glucosamine + chondroitin combination. With such a small, once daily pill, there will be better compliance and better joint health for millions of people. Our hope is that major supplement companies will want to bring this ingredient to their consumers and promote its effectiveness over glucosamine and chondroitin in joint health. UC-II can be a standalone product or be incorporated into existing joint health, or senior health products.”
The independent study was conducted at KGK Synergize Inc. in Canada with funding from InterHealth Nutraceuticals Inc. The study will also be submitted for publication in the next few weeks.