Rheumatoid arthritis....Peg & Rick

[Guest guest]

Dear Peg and Rick,

thank you both for your replies.

 

Apparently he is on the Glucosamine sulfate 900 mg capsules, but not on that

dosage. He also has some of the Shark cartilege tabs, but just hasn't taken

any.

His wife is going to try and get some of the w/willow bark.

 

Also looked at that very interesting site, and suggested she get some of the

Flax-seed oil.

 

Thank you again.

 

Regards, Dorothy.

[Guest guest]

-

" Dorothy " <dotcats

 

Wednesday, November 07, 2001 1:46 PM

Re: Rheumatoid arthritis....Peg & Rick

 

 

> Dear Peg and Rick,

> thank you both for your replies.

>

> Apparently he is on the Glucosamine sulfate 900 mg capsules, but not on that

> dosage. He also has some of the Shark cartilege tabs, but just hasn't taken

> any.

> His wife is going to try and get some of the w/willow bark.

>

> Also looked at that very interesting site, and suggested she get some of the

> Flax-seed oil.

 

Hi Dorothy,

 

Would suggest a high dose of Omega 3 EPA & DHA would do wonders!

 

===============

n-3 Fatty acid supplements in rheumatoid arthritis

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/71/1/349S

 

Abstract:

Ingestion of dietary supplements of n-3 fatty acids has been consistently shown

to reduce both the number of tender

joints on physical examination and the amount of morning stiffness in patients

with rheumatoid arthritis.

 

In these cases, supplements were consumed daily in addition to background

medications and the clinical benefits of the

n-3 fatty acids were not apparent until they were consumed for 12 wk.

 

It appears that a minimum daily dose of 3 g eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic

acids is necessary to derive the

expected benefits.

 

These doses of n-3 fatty acids are associated with significant reductions in the

release of leukotriene B4

[proinflammatory eicosanoids..gw] from stimulated neutrophils and of interleukin

1 from monocytes.

 

Both of these mediators of inflammation are thought to contribute to the

inflammatory events that occur in the

rheumatoid arthritis disease process.

 

Several investigators have reported that rheumatoid arthritis patients consuming

n-3 dietary supplements were able to

lower or discontinue their background doses of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory

drugs or disease-modifying antirheumatic

drugs.

 

Because the methods used to determine whether patients taking n-3 supplements

can discontinue taking these agents are

variable, confirmatory and definitive studies are needed to settle this issue.

 

n-3 Fatty acids have virtually no reported serious toxicity in the dose range

used in rheumatoid arthritis and are

generally very well tolerated.

 

Conclusion:

On the basis of the totality of the data, it is recommended that patients

consume dietary supplements containing 3-6 g

n-3 fatty acids [Omega 3 EPA + DHA..gw] daily for 12 wk.

 

The dietary supplement should not replace the standard therapeutic medical

regimen, but be added to it.

 

Note, however, that there are many forms of arthritis and that clinical studies

demonstrating efficacy have been

performed only in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

 

After taking n-3 fatty acid dietary supplements for 3-4 mo, patients may try

reducing their NSAID dose under the

supervision of a physician.

======================

 

Bottom line, 3 g of EPA + DHA a day for 12 weeks may be of significant benefit.

 

Live long,

Greg Watson