Treatment of knee joint osteoarthritis with Glucosamine: aspects of pharmacokinetics (a literature review)

Abstract

Knee joint osteoarthrosis is the commonest form of arthrosis. With regard for ageing of population in all countries it is prognosticated that the number of problems, caused by this disease, will significantly increase within the next few decades. As a medicinal drug for treating symptoms and preventing development of knee joint osteoarthrosis the studies involved Glucosamine, which demonstrated its symptomatic and modifying effects. Nevertheless the results of studies of the use of Glucosamine in gonarthrosis, made by today, turned out to be contradictory because of differences and/or shortcomings of models, numbers of observations, inadequacy in the composition of the studied drugs and their quality. The review provides the up-to-date level of information on pharmacokinetics of Glucosamine that may help in interpreting results of pharmacodynamics and clinical efficacy, received in different clinical studies.