Helping the Body to Make Cartilage
Osteoarthritis usually involves joints which sustain a great deal of movement (such as the knee, elbow, shoulder, thumb and fingers), but only rarely the more static joints, such as those which connect the spine to the pelvis.
A large range of motion and the demands of constant use can damage the cartilage of the joints. Not just age, but sports and accidents can lead to similar damage. Repetitive motions and just plain everyday wear and tear contribute to osteoarthritis. Whatever the cause, if stress and inflammation continue long enough, blood vessels will penetrate the cartilage and further weaken the joint tissue. Cartilage is very tough and resilient, but it is even slower than bone in its rate of repair and replacement. This has many implications, one of which is that, unlike many other tissues, relieving the symptoms of injury to cartilage may not be synonymous with repair.
The use of aspirin, ibuprofen and other non steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) will relieve the pain of arthritis, but these do nothing to encourage joint repair. In fact, NSAIDs can actually accelerate the degenerative process. Damage to joint cartilage is more likely to lead to long term problems than is damage to muscle tissue. This is largely because the cartilage does not have a direct supply of blood and cannot be quickly repaired. Joints are also particularly vulnerable because it is common for the needs of their repair to outstrip the body's ability to produce mew cartilage. Chondrocytes are cells responsible for the new repair and regeneration of cartilage tissues, both its removal when damaged and its synthesis. Enzymes produced by the chondrocytes tear down cartilage, just as proteoglycans synthesized by the chondrocytes renew cartilage.
Both steps are necessary for joint health and a balance needs to be maintained. On one hand, the destructive process is accelerated by inflammation and injury. On the other hand, the process of synthesis is heavily dependent upon adequate nutrition which is slowed with advancing age. In osteoarthritis, cartilage is destroyed faster than it's synthesized. The key limiting step on the synthetic side is production of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), for which glucosamine is the basic building block.
Glucosamine is often referred to as a "chondro-protective agent." This means that glucosamine protects cartilage. Glucosamine, however, does not act alone. Other nutrients must be available in adequate amounts if it is to be used efficiently in the synthesis of cartilage.
MSM
MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) is a biological form of sulfur that has recently attracted a great deal of attention. In particular, MSM has generated broad anecdotal support for its benefits in cases of allergies, arthritis and joint pain.
In cases of arthritis and similar joint and ligament injuries, MSM may work through several different mechanisms. For instance, it was discovered in the 1930's that sufferers from arthritis often had below normal levels of cysteine (a metabolite of cysteine) in the fingernails. This can lead to brittle or soft nails and can be an indication of either inadequate sulfur in the diet or poor ability to manipulate dietary sulfur to match the body's needs.
Interestingly, when sulfur was given to one hundred arthritis patients intravenously in one trial, many found that the pain and other symptoms of their arthritis disappeared and that their fingernails returned to normal in the nail test for cystine. Sulfur is required for the repair and maintenance of joint tissues and the construction of connective tissues more generally. This is one rationale which is often given for the use of glucosamine sulfate as the preferred glucosamine form in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Sulfur, moreover, is especially important for the body's production of the chondroitin sulfates, which act to maintain the proper water levels, and therefore the cushioning properties of cartilage in joint tissue.
Supplementing with MSM ensure that the body has adequate amounts of sulfur for each repair. Recently, a small preliminary double-blind placebo-controlled study at UCLA showed that supplementation with MSM improved pain in 80% of the arthritics tested.
Manganese
This mineral many years ago was suggested as being useful for joint integrity due to its ability to improve the production of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and proteoglycans, i.e., mucopolysaccharides.
By the time the Sixth Edition of Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease was published in 1980, it had been established that mucopolysaccharide production is a primary role for manganese in the body. It is important for the production of synovial fluid as well as for the production of cartilage. Another role for manganese is that manganese is a precursor to the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD). It is also known that manganese turnover is slow in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and that prednisone increases manganese turnover.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C, a water-soluble vitamin, effectively moves into the synovial fluid and helps control reactive oxygen species and free radicals. This is not, however, the only use of Vitamin C in the joints. The synthesis of procollagen from collagen requires both Vitamin C and manganese for its completion. Both glucosamine and procollagen are precursors for the body's synthesis of the GAGs. Since moving from procollagen to true collagen requires the presence of Vitamin C, Vitamin C acts in conjunction with glucosamine and manganese to encourage cartilage repair. Vitamin D3 Sufferers from osteoarthritis also often exhibit a deficiency in Vitamin D and impaired calcium metabolism. The inclusion of an active forum of Vitamin D in Joint Builder™ is intended to help normalize calcium levels and improve the integrity of the bones to which the cartilage is attached. Source: Jarrow Formulas
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Joint Builder - 120 Easy-Solv Tablets - Jarrow Formulas
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Joint Builder by Jarrow Formulas. Glucosamine Sulfate is a stable, clinically-studied source of glucosamine, which is the fundamental building block required for
the synthesis of connective tissue subunits (glycosaminoglycans).
Glucosamine is an essential building block of proteoglycans, hyaluronic acid (a component of joint lubrication) and glycolipids, and it is essential for the proper formation of tendons, ligaments, synovial fluid, bones, skin, nails, and blood vessels.
Joint Builder glucosamine is naturally water-soluble, and low in molecular weight, thereby offering rapid and high absorption (over 90%). MSM is a sulfur donor which is essential for the formation of chondroitin sulfates. Vitamin C and manganese are required for synthesis of collagen and cartilage. People with osteoarthritis are often deficient in Vitamin D3.
Joint Builder - sodium free formula - should be taken with Jarrow Formulas’ BioSil™, the only biologically active form of silicon. Silicon enhances collagen and cartilage integrity.
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Scientific References
Bohmer I, Ambrus P, Szogy A, Haralambie G. "Treatment of chondropathia patellae in young athletes with glucosamine sulfate," N. Bachl, L. Prokop and R. Suckert, eds., Current Topics in Sports Medicine, Proceedings of the World Congress of Sports Medicine, Vienna 1982 (Baltimore, MD.: Urban & Scharzenberg, 1984) 799-803. Cotzias, GC J Clin Invest 47: 992, 1968.) Drovanti A. "Therapeutic activity of oral glucosamine sulfate in osteoarthrosis: a placebo controlled double-blind investigation," Clinical Therapeutics 3, 4:260-72, 1980. Gaby AR., "Glucosamine Sulfate: Effective Treatment for Osteoarthritis," Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients 741, 1993. Giordano N, et al. "The efficacy and safety of GS in the treatment of arthritis," Clin Ter 147:99 105, 1996. Keen CL, Zidenberg-Cherr S, "Manganese," Chapter 32 in Brown, ML, ed., Present Knowledge in Nutrition. International Life Sciences Institute, 1990. Setnikar L, Cereda R, Pacini M, Revel L. "Anti reactive properties of glucosamine sulfate," Arzneimittelforschung/Drug Research 41: 157-61, 1991. Schwartz ER, "The modulation of osteoarthritic development with vitamins C and E," Int J Vitam Nutr Res Suppl 26: 141-6, 1984. Theodosakis, Jason, et al. The Arthritis Cure. St. Martin's Press, New York, 1997.
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