Medical Evidence

Therapeutic Effect Of Cosamin® On Autoimmune Type II Collagen Induced Arthritis In Rats JJ Beren, SL Hill, NR Rose, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.

Abstract: In 1975, Trenthan et al. (J Exp Med, 146:857, 1977) discovered that rats injected with soluble type II collagen developed anti-inflammatory polyarthritis. Over the years collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) has gained acceptance as a valid model for studying autoimmune arthritis. There is anecdotal evidence showing children afflicted with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and animals with autoimmune degenerative joint disease experience pain reduction and improvement in range of motion with Cosamin® (Glucosamine-Chondroitin sulfate) administration. Cosamin® is the human equivalent of Cosequin®. The purpose of this study was to determine if Cosamin® has an effect on the incidence, severity, immunological response, histopathology or pathogenesis of disease in CIA. The study included evaluations based on gross, histopathological and immunohistochemical parameters. Immunological testing of serum IgA, IgM, IgG and subclasses and T-cell proliferation on both lymph node and spleen tissues were performed.

Methods: Animals were administered Cosamin® orally homogenized in a nutritional paste (Nutracal®) at a dosage of 1.5-2.0g/kg for 10 days prior to the initial immunizations with type II collagen and continued until sacrafice at day 42.

Results: The incidence of arthritis in the control group was 96.5% (22/23), while the incidence in the rats receiving Cosamin® was 54% (13/24). The difference was statistically significant (p=0.001, chi-square test). The results suggest there is a therapeutic effect of Cosamin® on the incidence and development of autoimmune arthritis in this model.

Source: Presented at a Veterinarian conference 1/97