Arthritis Therapy May Help Ease Some MS Symptoms
by John C. Martin	Article Date: 12-12-05

A natural product that some medical experts claim may be able to ease some symptoms of arthritis^1,2 might do the same for some people with multiple sclerosis (MS). That's the conclusion of a new study using animals to test the product's effectiveness.³

Does it Work in People?
A group of neurologists at Thomas Jefferson University and the Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience in Philadelphia used a group of mice to test the product's efficacy against a disease similar to MS. Doses of the product, known as glucosamine, dramatically postponed the symptoms of the disease, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), and improved the animals' ability to move and walk.

The important question that still remains is whether these benefits can be replicated in people. "It would be fantastic if glucosamine works in humans because we have a product that has a long track record for safety, and most importantly, can be given orally," said Abdolmohamad Rostami, MD, PhD, professor and chairman of Neurology at Thomas Jefferson University and one of the study's chief researchers.

Most current therapies for MS are given by injection.

Easing Symptoms in Diseased Mice
Glucosamine is a natural substance in the body that is believed to increase levels of substances that experts believe are deficient in the origins of osteoarthritis. It also is believed to repair destructive enzymes that play a role in the disease.⁴ In MS, it's believed glucosamine fends off destructive immune system cells.

In this animal trial, Rostami, Guang-Xian Zhang, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Neurology, and others gave some mice doses of glucosamine, while other rodents did not receive the product. In the intervention group, mice received glucosamine either orally, intravenously, or intraperitoneally, in which the product is infused in the animals' abdominal region. They also tested the effect of the product in a group of animals before symptoms appeared and in a second group in which symptoms had already begun to appear.

In each case in which glucosamine was used, the onset or progression of symptoms was significantly delayed, the study team wrote. That is, the mice that received the product took longer to become ill, and when they did become ill, the disease was much less severe, the study found. Glucosamine was as effective when given early in the disease or after the mice became ill.

Blocking Immune Cells
It's believed glucosamine works by suppressing the ill-effects of the immune system. MS (and EAE) is believed to be an autoimmune disease. For an unknown reason, the body's immune system begins to attack normal body tissue. Specifically, a fatty substance that insulates nerve fibers in the central nervous system is damaged, as are the nerve fibers themselves in some cases. When this occurs, communication between the nerve fibers is disrupted, causing the neurological impairment that is seen in the disease.⁵

In this case, glucosamine affects the production of specific immune system cells known as T cells. There are two types of T cells: TH1 promotes inflammation as part of the immune response and TH2 cells suppress it. "We've shown that glucosamine modulates the immune response by producing more TH2 responses, suppressing brain inflammation," explained Rostami, who is also head of the Neuroimmunology Laboratory in the department of Neurology at Thomas Jefferson University. "At the same time, it suppresses TH1 response."

When the rodents' spinal cords were examined for this research, the study team found less inflammation and myelin damage in those given glucosamine.

Combination Therapy Possible?
"As a therapy, it might be used in combination with other proven treatments, such as beta-interferon and Copaxone," Rostami explained. He and his colleagues are currently studying the feasibility of such a therapy combination in the same group of mice to search for any possible adverse effects. They're also trying to determine if glucosamine can hinder the relapses that occur in the relapsing/remitting form of EAE, similar to what occurs in MS.

"As glucosamine is able to effectively suppress acute EAE, has low or absent toxicity, and has been safely used in humans orally, our study suggests a potential use for this drug alone or in combination with other disease-modifying immunotherapies to enhance their efficacy and reduce their doses in MS and possibly other autoimmune disorders," the researchers wrote.

Conflicting Information
In clinical trials involving people with osteoarthritis, glucosamine hasn't always shown that its effective at reducing symptoms. In one study last year,⁶ more than 200 patients with symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee were enrolled to test the product's safety and efficacy. The patients were assigned at random to receive either doses of glucosamine or a placebo, an intervention that has no therapeutic effectiveness, as a comparison.

The researchers tested the effectiveness of the product for its ability to reduce pain and ease stiffness. However, they wrote, "There was no difference between treatment and control groups [the group taking a placebo] in terms of change in pain score, stiffness, physical function … and analgesic use."