Question about Hyaluronan Acid (Lubrisyn) for Joint Issues

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terre
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Question about Hyaluronan Acid (Lubrisyn) for Joint Issues

Post by terre »

I have a friend who says this product has helped her arthritis....is anyone familiar with it? Does anyone know if it would have an adverse affect on MC?

She also gives it to her older dog and says she thinks it has helped him.

Thanks,
Terre
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tex
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Post by tex »

Hi Terre,

Hyualuronic acid is sometimes injected into the knee as a treatment for osteoarthritis. I located a research article that evaluated it's risks/benefits, and it doesn't appear to be a very effective treatment (for most patients). Here's the abstract and the link. I've highlighted the conclusion of the study in red.
Background: Viscosupplementation, the intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid, is widely used for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.

Purpose: To assess the benefits and risks of viscosupplementation for adults with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.

Data Sources: MEDLINE (1966 to January 2012), EMBASE (1980 to January 2012), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (1970 to January 2012), and other sources.

Study Selection: Randomized trials in any language that compared viscosupplementation with sham or nonintervention control in adults with knee osteoarthritis.

Data Extraction: Primary outcomes were pain intensity and flare-ups. Secondary outcomes included function and serious adverse events. Reviewers used duplicate abstractions, assessed study quality, pooled data by using a random-effects model, examined funnel plots, and explored heterogeneity by using meta-regression.

Data Synthesis: Eighty-nine trials involving 12 667 adults met inclusion criteria. Sixty-eight had a sham control, 40 had a follow-up duration greater than 3 months, and 22 used cross-linked forms of hyaluronic acid. Overall, 71 trials (9617 patients) showed that viscosupplementation moderately reduced pain (effect size, −0.37 [95% CI, −0.46 to −0.28]). There was important between-trial heterogeneity and an asymmetrical funnel plot: Trial size, blinded outcome assessment, and publication status were associated with effect size. Five unpublished trials (1149 patients) showed an effect size of −0.03 (CI, −0.14 to 0.09). Eighteen large trials with blinded outcome assessment (5094 patients) showed a clinically irrelevant effect size of −0.11 (CI, −0.18 to −0.04). Six trials (811 patients) showed that viscosupplementation increased, although not statistically significantly, the risk for flare-ups (relative risk, 1.51 [CI, 0.84 to 2.72]). Fourteen trials (3667 patients) showed that viscosupplementation increased the risk for serious adverse events (relative risk, 1.41 [CI, 1.02 to 1.97]).

Limitations: Trial quality was generally low. Safety data were often not reported.

Conclusion: In patients with knee osteoarthritis, viscosupplementation is associated with a small and clinically irrelevant benefit and an increased risk for serious adverse events.
Viscosupplementation for Osteoarthritis of the Knee: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

About 10 to 15 years ago I was having major problems with arthritis in my knees. I also had osteoarthritis in several joints of the fingers of my right hand. I sometimes had to use a cane just to get around. I started taking flax seed oil (because vets give this to dogs and horses when they have joint problems), and it helped. I also started taking glucosamine sulphate, because I had to do a lot of heavy, repetitive lifting in my work, and glucosamine helps to rebuild the cartilage in knee joints as it wears down from heavy use. After I changed my diet to eliminate gluten and dairy, all my arthritis symptoms faded away, and they have never returned. I continue to take the flax seed oil and glucosamine, though, because I believe that they are very beneficial for knee and hip joints, especially for anyone who does a lot of lifting or walking.

Hyualuronic acid injected into the knees shouldn't affect MC.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
terre
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Post by terre »

Tex, you are so thorough! I researched the Hyualuronic acid, but my friend said what she was taking was Lubrisyn and she spelled it Hyaluronan?

I have patellofemoral syndrome due to my kneecaps not tracking....I hadn't had trouble with it in years and then I took a fall November 1st and I've been having pain in my left knee.

Can you give me the info on brands / dosage of the flax seed oil and glucosamine. I took the glucosamine years ago and I think it helped me. I take fish oil, but the flax seed might be a welcome change.

Thank you,
Terre
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tex
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Post by tex »

Oops, I notice that I mispelled "hyaluronic" in my previous post. The correct spelling is "hyaluronic", not "hyualuronic". LubriSyn (based on hyaluronic acid) is widely used for joint issues in horses, dogs, and virtually all other animals, as you can see from the manufacturer's home page at the following link:

http://lubrisyn.com/

But their version sold for human use is listed as a liquid oral joint supplement made of hyaluronan (as you can see from their "For You" page):

http://lubrisyn.com/for-you/

Hyaluronan is just another name for hyaluronic acid. They probably figured that it sounded better to call the product sold for human use by a different name, so that people wouldn't think that they are getting the same product sold for animal use (even though it probably is the same). :lol:

The flax seed oil I'm currently using is natural cold pressed Nature's Bounty brand, 1,200 mg. Other ingredients: gelatin,vegetable glycerin, natural caramel color. In the past I've used Spring Valley brand, 1,000 mg. Other ingredients: gelatin, glucerin, caramel color. I take one capsule per day.

The Glucosamine/Chondroitin I'm taking is Finest Nutrition brand, tripple strength. I take 2 tablets, which provides 1,500 mg of glucosamine, and 1,200 mg of Chondroitin Sulfate, total. Other ingredients include: crospovidone, cellulose, titanium dioxide color, vegetable magnesium stearate. Note that these contain shellfish ingredients, in case you might be allergic to shellfish. In the past I've taken Spring Valley brand, triple strength, (2 per day). Other ingredients: cellulose, beet powder, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, maltodextrin, polyethylene glucol, silicon dioxide and magnesium stearate. These also contain shellfish ingredients.

Tex
:cowboy:

It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
terre
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Post by terre »

Tex, I'm sure you are right that they call it something different or humans wouldn't take it. Ha!

Thank you so much for the info on the supplements you take - I'm going to see what I can pick up today.....that is if I can get out of my drive, we still have ice on the side roads.

Terre
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