UNDENATURED COLLAGEN TYPE II FOR THE TREATMENT OF OSTEOARTHRITIS OF THE KNEE

Objective: To test the hypothesis that undenatured type II collagen (UC-II) relieves pain, quality of life, and joint function in women aged from 60 to 80 years with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: 53 patients in the UC-II treatment group (for 90 days) and 52 in the control group (without UC-II) were evaluated at 1, 30, and 90 days regarding health-related quality of life, pain, and function with questionnaires, anthropometric data, alignment, range of motion, and radiographic analysis. Results: Quality of life in-creased significantly in the Physical domain in the treatment vs control group. Also, there was a difference between the first and the last evaluation on the pain visual analog scale (-3.8 +/- 1.8 versus -1.3 +/- 2.0) and on the WOMAC score (-9.5 +/- 11.9 ver -sus -1.3 +/- 11.1). No variation in the temporal evolution of the Mental domain was found. Conclusion: Pain, joint stiffness, and quality of life (Physical domain) improved with the inclusion of UC-II for 90 days to the therapeutic toolbox for knee osteoar-thritis in individuals aged 60 to 80 years. Level of evidence II, Comparative Prospective Study.