Presentation of the MOVES trial in Aragon: “The combination of two drugs shows efficacy in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis”

Some 208,000 Aragonese, or around 16 percent of the population, suffers from knee, hand or spine osteoarthritis, which means this condition is the most prevalent rheumatic pathology, followed closely by cervical pain –pain in the cervical area of the column- which is suffered by some 190,000 persons in this autonomous region.

The above were some of the data presented by Dr. Angel Bueno, primary care physician at the Santa Isabel healthcare center in Zaragoza, at the symposium “Osteoarthritis, Arthritis and Healthy Aging” which is part of the “Patients and Health: CIBA forums” series of conferences hosted by the Aragonese Institute of Health Sciences in collaboration with Bioiberica, Conartritis and the Asociación aRtritis Oscense.

Dr. Bueno explained that “some 28 percent of the world population older than 60 suffer from osteoarthritis, and the increase in life expectancy and the aging of the population will make this disease the fourth most common cause of disability by 2020”. According to this specialist, patients who suffer from OA can take a number of easy measures to relieve weight off their joints and improve their quality of life such as “losing weight, eating a balanced diet, using proper shoes, and light exercise every day, such as walking or swimming”.

Depending of the location and stage of the disease, it might be necessary to combine these therapies with medication. During this symposium they had presented the results of a new international clinical trial that concludes that the combination of chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine significantly reduces pain and improves mobility of joints affected by osteoarthritis. Furthermore, there is evidence that since it improves mobility and stiffness of the affected joints, as well as decreasing inflammation it, therefore, improves the quality of life of patients.

“The efficacy of the combination of these two drugs is comparable to that of an anti inflammatory, with the added advantage of its security, since it has very little secondary effects”, explained Dr. Jordi Monfort, rheumatologist at the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona.

The clinical trial involved 606 patients suffering from primary knee osteoarthritis and moderate to severe pain, coming from 42 medical centers from France, Germany, Poland and Spain. Osteoarthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects joints and causes pain and prevents patients from doing everyday activities, such as closing fists or walking down stairs. It is suffered by more than 7 million Spaniards, and it is the cause of 35 percent of Primary Care visits and of more than 30 percent of all work-related disabilities, both permanent as well as temporary.