Chondroprotective drugs: long-acting chondroprotective drugs have a symptom
atic effect. They are only effective in subjects with osteoarthritis and ha
ve no pure pain relieving effect. They act within several weeks, improve fu
nctional manifestations and have a remnant effect.
Chondroitin sulfates 4&6: CS 4&6 are glycosaminoglycans which participate i
n the matrix structure of cartilage. They are well absorbed after oral inta
ke. They have a dose-dependent inhibitor effect in vitro an proteoglycan an
d collagen catabolism and have been shown to stimulate matrix synthesis. Se
veral clinical studies have demonstrated the chondroprotective efficacy of
CS 4&6 in osteoarthritis involving the hip, knee and finger joints.
Osteoarthritis of the knee: A controlled randomized double-blind study venu
s placebo was conducted in 104 patients with femorotibial osteoarthritis. T
he objective was to demonstrate that CS 4&6 given orally in a sequential re
gimen at the dose of 800 mg/d has a beneficial effect both in terms of clin
ical manifestations and in terms of the anatomic progression in patients wi
th osteoarthritis of the knee. The main efficacy criteria was the Lequesne
functional score. After 1 year of treatment with CS 4&6, the functional imp
airment was reduced by approximately 50%, a significant improvement over pl
acebo for all clinical criteria. Tolerance was excellent or good in more th
an 90% of the cases.
A structure modulator: This study suggests that chondroitin sulfates act as
structure modulators as shown by the improvement in the interarticular spa
ce visualized on the x-rays of patients treated with CS 4&6.