Glucosamine and chondroitin combo as good as common NSAID for knee OA

A combination of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate is as effective as the widely used anti-inflammatory COX-2 inhibitor drug celecoxib for treating symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, but has less side effects, a new study shows. Published online this month in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, the MOVES study included 606 patients with moderate-to-severe pain, and found that six months of treatment with glucosamine and chondroitin was associated with a 50.1 percent decrease in pain as measured on the Western Ontario and McMaster osteoarthritis index (WOMAC), compared with a 50.2 percent decrease among patients given celecoxib.