A nine-month clinical trial involving 340 people with osteoarthritis of the knee has been commissioned to study the effectiveness of glucosamine, the Minister for Ageing, Julie Bishop announced today.
The trial will be funded by a $450,000 grant through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
The grant has been awarded to a research team led by Dr Marlene Fransen at Sydney University’s George Institute for International Health.
Ms Bishop said the grant was delivering on the Australian Government’s 2004 commitment to fund research into the effectiveness of glucosamine as part of its Better Arthritis Care program administered by the Department of Health and Ageing.
“The acute pain and reduced mobility of osteoarthritis affects around one and a half million Australians, a million of whom are aged 55 or over,” Ms Bishop said.
“As yet there is no cure, but any treatment that can help relieve this suffering will be welcomed. Glucosamine has been used for around 20 years, and there is reasonable evidence that it can help, at least in the short term, particularly with osteoarthritis of the knee.
“Marlene Fransen, a Senior Research Fellow at the George Institute, is also a physiotherapist and epidemiologist. She has a great research record, and has been published widely in the areas of osteoarthritis, exercise, physical disability in the ageing population, and joint replacement surgery.
“The NHMRC believes that Dr Fransen’s glucosamine research study will help build on the existing evidence about glucosamine in terms of its effectiveness in different preparations, for different joints and at different stages of disease severity; and in terms of its long-term impact, and economic value,” Ms Bishop said.
The study will be conducted as a nine-month clinical trial in general practice surgeries, with a long-term follow-up study planned.
In 2004, the Australian Government, through the NHMRC, provided $8.1 million in funding for research into arthritis-related issues.
The Australian Government has more than doubled investment in health and medical research since 1999 to over $420 million in 2004–05.
Media contact: Murray Hansen 0417 886 155