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Posted on Jan 08, 2004, 4 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
New study results suggest that a drug used to treat the pain of osteoarthritis may have the added bonus of actually improving the condition. Dr Daniel-Henri Manicourt and colleagues at the University of Louvain in Belgium found that celecoxib, a cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) selective inhibitor sold in the US and Europe as Celebrex, enhanced the rate of synthesis of cartilage proteoglycans and reduced the loss of proteoglycans from cartilage itself.
New study results suggest that a drug used to treat the pain of osteoarthritis may have the added bonus of actually improving the condition. Dr Daniel-Henri Manicourt and colleagues at the University of Louvain in Belgium found that celecoxib, a cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) selective inhibitor sold in the US and Europe as Celebrex, enhanced the rate of synthesis of cartilage proteoglycans and reduced the loss of proteoglycans from cartilage itself. Cartilage proteoglycans are essential for cartilage's unique properties, and it is these components that are depleted in osteoarthritis and other diseases that affect joints. Manicourt concludes that the findings suggest that Celebrex "might have important implications for the therapeutic approach to patients suffering from osteoarthritis."
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.reutershealth.com on the 25th December 2003.
