Grey Power June 2016

10
national Greypower mAGAZINE » june 2016
Osteoarthritis pain relief trial produces one of the most
exciting results in 15 years: Otago University researcher
A senior Otago University researcher says a randomised
clinical trial of an all-natural plant-based osteoarthritis
product has produced “one of the most exciting study
results” he has seen in the past 15 years.
A
pilot randomised,
placebo-controlled
clinical trial studied
the effectiveness of
a New Zealand manu-
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factured product Arthrem®,
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The results, which were
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published in the peerreviewed
journal Clinical
Rheumatology, found that
trial participants with hip
or knee osteoarthritis experienced
reduced pain and
stiffness and an increased
functional ability after taking
the preparation.
“It has been a
long standing
aspiration to
find a herbal
extract that
could prove
effective in
relieving
osteoarthritis
symptoms.
Particularly positive results
were observed in people
with mild to moderate
osteoarthritis (as opposed
to severe osteoarthritis). In
this subgroup, the average
magnitude of pain after 12
weeks of taking Arthrem®
was less than half of the
value at the start of the
study.
Few of the trial’s participants
experienced any
side effects when taking the
recommended dose of one
capsule twice a day and any
adverse effects were minor,
whilst no change was
found in the placebo control
group.
The study's principal investigator
and lead author
Associate Professor Simon
Stebbings from Otago University’s
Dunedin School of
Medicine says he is excited
by the study’s findings.
“It has been a long
standing aspiration to find
a herbal extract that could
prove effective in relieving
osteoarthritis symptoms.
Arthrem® shows great
promise and, with participants
experiencing no major
side effects, it could find
a place in the treatment
of osteoarthritis, proving
safer than existing antiinflammatory
medicines,”
he says. “We are hoping to
conduct further large scale
studies to build on this preliminary
evidence.”
The study used the
Western Ontario and Mc-
Master Universities Osteoarthritis
Index (WOMAC),
as well as a visual analogue
scale (VAS) to assess joint
pain.
Arthrem® is manufactured
by NZX-listed New
Zealand company Promisia
Integrative Limited. It is
made from plants grown in
Tanzania and is the world’s
first and only Artemisia
annua product specifically
formulated for joint support.
Promisia’s chief executive
Charlie Daily says
although the company receives
plenty of anecdotal
evidence from customers
world-wide who are using
the product successfully,
having scientific proof is
important because the
company’s point of difference
lies in developing
and marketing safe and
effective natural therapeutic
products that are supported
by robust scientific
research.
Being a unique proprietary
product means that
Arthrem® gives Promisia
– and New Zealand – a
strong first-mover advantage
in the global joint support
remedy market.
“Ageing populations
across the Western world
mean there will be an
ever-increasing demand
for joint support products
such as Arthrem®, which
will create exponential and
sustainable growth in this
market,” says Mr Daily.
Arthrem® is sold in
New Zealand. Since the
results from the trial were
published, Promisia has
begun to invest significantly
in the marketing of
Arthrem® in the United
States.
Research and development
of new plant-based
products is underway.
Stebbings, S., Beattie, E.,
McNamara, D., & Hunt, S.
2015, A pilot randomized,
placebo-controlled clinical
trial to investigate the efficacy
and safety of an extract of
Artemisia annua administered
over 12 weeks, for managing
pain, stiffness, and functional
limitation associated with
osteoarthritis of the hip and
knee, Clinical Rheumatology,
1-8.
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