Abstract: Background: One of the leading diseases among the elderly population is Osteoarthritis of Knee, which occurs due to the destruction of articular cartilage by immunologic or mechanical factors. Collagen is the most abundant component of the cartilage. Collagen derivatives have shown to have disease modifying action in osteoarthritis. This study evaluates the ability of Undenatured Type II Collagen to improve knee symptoms in patients diagnosed with Osteoarthritis of knee.
Method: A total of 60 patients who satisfied our inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomly distributed in two groups. One treated with 1500 mg/day of acetaminophen (group A; n=30) and the other treated with 10 mg/day of native type II collagen (group UC-II; n=30) for 3 months. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at rest and during walking, Western Ontario McMaster (WOMAC) pain and WOMAC function were recorded.
Results: After 180 days of treatment, although there was overall reduction in WOMAC groups AC+ UC-II was significantly better than AC for “night pain” (p= 0.040) and “resting pain” (p= 0.025). AC+ UC-II was significantly better than AC for “ascending stairs at 60 days and 180 days” (p=0.020 & 0.035 respectively), “at night while in bed” (p=0.020) at 60 days and difficulty walking on flat surface at 180 days (p=0.036). AC and UC-II was most effective and reduced VAS & WOMAC scores by 30%.
Conclusion: The results suggest that undenatured type II collagen treatment combined with acetaminophen has more marked effect when compared to only acetaminophen for symptomatic treatment of patients with knee osteoarthritis.
