NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The protein collagen derived from chickens is nearly as effective as low doses of the drug methotrexate in reducing pain and stiffness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, Chinese investigators found in a study.
Collagen is the basic building bock of tendons and cartilage. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the immune system, for unknown reasons, mistakenly attacks the joints, leading to inflammation, swelling and pain. Over time, this process erodes the bone and soft tissue within the joints. Methotrexate is often used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
Dr. Wei Wei at Anhui Medical University in Hefei and colleagues conducted a randomized 24-week trial comparing chicken collagen (0.1 milligrams daily in pill form) and methotrexate (10 milligrams per week) in 236 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Other "second-line" drugs for rheumatoid arthritis had been discontinued, but patients were allowed to continue use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs.
Patients in both groups saw a decrease in pain, morning stiffness, number of tender and swollen joints, and improvement in their health-related quality of life.
Methotrexate proved to be more effective, with significant differences apparent at the midpoint of the trial. At the end of the trial, 41 percent of patients treated with chicken collagen and 58 percent of those treated with methotrexate met the "ACR50" criteria for improvement -- that is a decrease of at least 50 percent in the number of both tender and swollen joints.
However, adverse effects occurred less frequently and were less severe in the chicken collagen-treated group.
Chicken collagen treatment "is appealing because of the few side effects and easy clinical implementation of this approach," Wei and colleagues note.
SOURCE: Arthritis & Rheumatism, July 15, 2008.
