Chondroprotective efficiencies of intra-articular treatment of glucosamine sulfate and hyaluronic acid

Abstract

Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to determine a comparison between the chondroprotective efficacy of intra-articular administrations of glucosamine sulphate (GS) and hyaluronic acid (HA) in the experimental knee osteoarthritis model in rats. Materials and Methods: Forty-five rats were assigned to the following three groups: GS group (Group 1), HA group (Group 2), control group (Group 3). The knee joints of the rats were seen macroscopically and the anterior cruciate ligaments were resected. Two weeks after surgery, an intra-articular injection was applied to each group for three weeks with 1 week interval. In the osteoarthritic rat knee joints, the histopathological effects of tissue regeneration of GS and HA applications were compared with the control group. Results: The total Mankin Scale was 2.64±2.56, 3.58±3.9, 8.12±2.80 for the GS group, HA group and control group respectively. According to these results, the GS and HA were superior to the control group. The values of the total Mankin Scale, cartilage structure, cellular abnormality, matrix staining and tidemark integrity of the GS group were lower than the values of the HA group but this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, intra-articular administration of GS for the management of osteoarthritis may be beneficial for patients with knee osteoarthritis.