Glucosamine Supplements Tied to Risk of Eye Condition

Seniors taking them had side effect that has been linked to glaucoma, small study finds

By Denise Mann

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 23 (HealthDay News) -- Glucosamine supplements that millions of Americans take to help treat hip and knee osteoarthritis may have an unexpected side effect: They may increase risk for developing glaucoma, a small new study of older adults suggests.

Glaucoma occurs when there is an increase of intraocular pressure (IOP) or pressure inside the eye. Left untreated, glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness.

In the new study of 17 people, whose average age was 76 years, 11 participants had their eye pressure measured before, during and after taking glucosamine supplements. The other six had their eye pressure measured while and after they took the supplements.

Overall, pressure inside the eye was higher when participants were taking glucosamine, but did return to normal after they stopped taking these supplements, the study showed.

"This study shows a reversible effect of these changes, which is reassuring," wrote researchers led by Dr. Ryan Murphy at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford, Maine. "However, the possibility that permanent damage can result from prolonged use of glucosamine supplementation is not eliminated. Monitoring IOP in patients choosing to supplement with glucosamine may be indicated."

Exactly how glucosamine supplements could affect pressure inside the eye is not fully understood, but several theories exist. For example, glucosamine is a precursor for molecules called glycosaminoglycans, which may elevate eye pressure.

The findings are published online May 23 as a research letter in JAMA Ophthalmology.

The study had some shortcomings. Researchers did not have information on the dose or brand of glucosamine used, and they did not know how long some participants were taking the supplements.

Duffy MacKay, vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group representing supplement manufacturers, said the findings don't mean that people should stop taking the supplements.

"This research letter raises questions and introduces a hypothesis that should be explored further, but the small number of cases investigated and the [fact that] researchers did not count capsules or control for dose or intake or duration of use of glucosamine provide extremely limited evidence of harm," MacKay said.

"This study should not change consumer habits; however, individuals with glaucoma or ocular hypertension who are taking glucosamine should let their doctor know so that the appropriate monitoring of intraocular pressure measurements can be done to identify any changes," he said.

MacKay concluded: "The good news is that increased IOP was reversible. So if you take the product, and your IOP goes up, then you can stop taking the product to see if it returns to normal."

However, previous studies have raised questions about whether glucosamine supplements provide any health benefit to consumers. A large recent study concluded it had no healing effect on arthritic pain.

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Experts: Common Women's Condition Needs a New Name

Jan. 24, 2013 -- What’s in a name? If it’s polycystic ovary syndrome, a lot of confusion, says a panel of experts convened by the NIH -- and they’re calling for a change.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders, affecting about 1 in 10 women in the U.S. It’s also a major cause of infertility. But as doctors have learned more about the complex condition, they’ve changed the way it’s diagnosed. As a result, a woman doesn’t necessarily have to have polycystic ovaries to have PCOS.

What’s more, for many women, the consequences of the disease extend beyond the ovaries. Recent research suggests PCOS may set women up for a variety of long-term health problems, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attacks, and perhaps some kinds of cancers.

The current name, experts say, doesn’t adequately reflect that.

“It does have a branding problem in the sense that people assume that it’s all about obesity; people assume that it’s all about diabetes; or people assume that it’s all about polycystic ovaries,” says Ricardo Azziz, MD, MPH, MBA, an obstetrician-gynecologist who specializes in PCOS. Azziz testified before the NIH panel. He’s also president of Georgia Regents University in Augusta.

Currently, no one medical specialty claims PCOS. That makes it tough to get funding for research. It’s also difficult to educate patients and doctors about the serious and sometime long-term consequences of the syndrome.

Women with PCOS don’t ovulate regularly. They also overproduce or are overly sensitive to male hormones, like testosterone. The result is a collection of symptoms that can seem unrelated. Those may include:

AcneExcess hair on the face or bodyThinning of hair on the scalpDifficulty getting pregnantObesityDepression or anxiety

Recent research has suggested that, at least for some women with PCOS, the hormone insulin may lie at the root of these problems. Some women with PCOS are resistant to insulin’s effects. That puts them at higher risk for problems like type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and perhaps heart attacks and cancers of the reproductive organs.

“The current name focuses on only one of the criteria and actually doesn’t include a discussion about the metabolic syndrome and the metabolic consequences, the insulin resistance, and some of the other major issues that could be lifelong issues that people who have this disease or this series of diseases might have,” says panel member Timothy Johnson, MD. He is an obstetrician-gynecologist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

“Our hope was that a group or some group of people who are interested in the condition could come together very, very quickly and simply pick a name that is more inclusive,” Johnson says.

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