According to the results of a study from the Netherlands, released in February 2008, it was found to be no better at relieving the pain of hip osteoarthritis than a placebo.

This was a small trial which involved 222 patients in Holland with mild to moderate osteoarthritis. They were treated with either 1,500 mg per day of glucosamine sulfate or placebo for two years.

The study was lead by Rianna Rozendaal, M.Sc. and colleagues of the Erasmus Medical Center, and according to the researchers showed the dietary supplement had neither a therapeutic effect nor side effect on patients with osteoarthritis of the hips.

The researchers evaluated the differences in pain and function on the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) scale after two years. The WOMAC differences were also evaluated at three, 12, and 24 months.

The pain score and function score between the glucosamine and placebo groups were insignificant according to the study.

Critics of the study praised the methods, but expressed concerns with other issues.

Among the concerns was the expected rate of cartilage reduction; only the hip joint was studied; 15 of the 222 study participants underwent hip replacement surgery which made analysis complicated; and a longer study might have produced different results had patients with more severe osteoarthritis been studied.

Johannes Bijlsma, M.D., Ph.D., and Floris Lafeber, Ph.D., of the Utrecht University Medical Center in the Netherlands suggested the study may not be definitive because a lower than expected loss of cartilage would make it difficult for researchers to see any potential effect. Their comments were in an editorial which accompanied the results of the study.