薬理と治療

Abstract

Background　Chondroitin sulfate（CS）is used to treat arthralgia and lumbalgia in Japan. Results from our previous study indicated that CS is a useful pharmacotherapy for pain relief in patients with knee osteoarthritis（OA）. Weakness of the knee extensor is related to an increased risk of knee OA. Therefore, we investigated the effect of CS on locomotor function with knee-extensor strength in humans, because the efficacy of CS for the improvement of knee-extensor strength remains unclear. Methods　A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was designed to investigate the effect of CS in Japanese women and men aged 35 -79 years. Participants included 34 Japanese subjects with knee-extensor strength recruited from among peoples who visited Chubu University. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 0 mg/d CS（Placebo group） or 1560 mg/d CS （CS group）. The CS tablets contained 260 mg of CS. Participants in both groups took two tablets three times per day. The strength of both knee extensors was measured using a strain gauge after 4 weeks. Results　After 4 weeks of intervention, knee-extensor strength increased significantly in the CS group. In addition, the amount of change in knee-extensor strength was significantly greater in the CS group than in the Placebo group. Conclusion　After 4 weeks, CS administration improved knee-extensor strength. Our findings indicate that CS may be beneficial for force transmission on knee extensors. （UMIN000031899）