Hi Rey,,,,   Here is some of the latest information that was post in the
newsgroup a little time back.
A couple of web sites for information.
Harv

http://www.arthritis.co.za/

http://home.gci.net/~cushman4/oa-gcs.htm

http://www.arthritisinsight.com/

Glucosamine Has a Disease-Modifying Effect on Osteoarthritis  CME

News Author: Laurie Barclay, MD

March 17, 2004 - Glucosamine has a disease-modifying effect on
osteoarthritis, according to the results of two three-year randomized
studies published in the March/April issue of Menopause.

"The management of knee osteoarthritis, recognized as responsible for
consistent pain and disability, is a major social and economic target
in health management," write Olivier Bruyere, MSc, from the WHO
Collaborating Center for Public Health Aspect of Osteoarticular
Disorders in Liege, Belgium, and colleagues. "For a few years,
glucosamine sulfate has been considered a potential disease-modifying
drug for osteoarthritis."

This study was a preplanned combination of two three-year, randomized,
placebo-controlled, prospective, independent trials investigating the
effects of glucosamine sulfate on symptoms and joint structure in
osteoarthritis. Of 414 subjects enrolled, 319 were postmenopausal
women. Demographics and disease characteristics were similar at
baseline in the glucosamine sulfate and placebo groups, both in the
overall study population and in the subgroup of postmenopausal women.

After three years, postmenopausal women who received placebo had joint
space narrowing on standing anteroposterior knee radiographs, but
those who received glucosamine did not. Joint space change was +0.003
mm (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.09 to 0.11) in the glucosamine
group and -0.33 mm (95% CI, -0.44 to -0.22) in the placebo group (P <
.0001).

The glucosamine sulfate group also improved in the Western Ontario and
McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index function scale (WOMAC)
reflecting symptoms (-14.1%; 95% CI, -22.2 to -5.9), while there was a
trend for worsening in the placebo group (5.4%; 95% CI, -4.9 to 15.7;
P = .003 between groups).

A potential study limitation is that symptom relief might improve
joint space narrowing as seen on standing knee x-rays, but the authors
found only a poor relationship between symptom relief and prevention
of joint space narrowing. They also found a significant difference in
joint space preservation between patients receiving placebo or
glucosamine when considering only those patients with symptomatic
improvement.

"This analysis, focusing on a large cohort of postmenopausal women,
demonstrated for the first time that a pharmacological intervention
for osteoarthritis has a disease-modifying effect in this particular
population, the most frequently affected by knee osteoarthritis," the
authors write. "Glucosamine sulfate, therefore, is the first agent
that meets the current requirements to be classified as a symptom- and
structure-modifying drug in women with knee osteoarthritis."

thanks, Rey...
did your doc offer you anything for your knees? there are so many meds
that can relieve your symptoms! many of us use stuff like
Osteo-BioFlex (sp?) or it's generic with great success...
also, have you had x-rays taken? bloodwork?
we're kind of through in this group when it comes to our health
<smile>
and congrats on being 60 and in good health...way to go!!
donnah