Ulrich Danesch, Marion Seybold, Reiner Rittinghausen, Walter Treibel, Norman Bitterlich
Objective: NEM® brand eggshell membrane is a novel dietary supplement ingredient that contains naturally occurring glycosaminoglycans and proteins essential for maintaining healthy joints. A six center, open label clinical study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of NEM® as a treatment for pain and inflexibility associated with osteoarthritis of the knee and/or hip in a European population.
Methods: Forty-four subjects received oral NEM® 500 mg once daily for eight weeks. The primary outcome measure was to evaluate the mean effectiveness of NEM® in relieving general pain associated with moderate osteoarthritis of the knee and/or hip at 10,30 and 60 days utilizing a 10-question abbreviated questionnaire based on the WOMAC osteoarthritis questionnaire.
Results: Supplementation with NEM® produced a significant treatment response from baseline at 10 days (Q1-6 and Q9) (8.6% to 18.1% improvement) and at 30 and 60 days for all nine pain-related questions evaluated (22.4% to 35.6% improvement) and at 30 and 60 days for stiffness (Q10)(27.4% to 29.3% improvement). In a Patient’s Global Assessment, greater than 59% of patients rated the efficacy of NEM® as good or very good following 60 days of supplementation. Physicians also rated the treatment effective in subjects, with greater than 75% having moderate or significant improvement from baseline after 60 days. There were no serious adverse events reported during the study and the treatment was reported to be well tolerated.
Conclusions: Supplementation with NEM® significantly reduced pain, both rapidly (10 days) and continuously (60 days) demonstrating that it is a safe and effective therapeutic option for the treatment of pain associated with osteoarthritis of the knee and/or hip. Results from previous clinical studies on NEM® can likely be extended to the broader European population.