Effects of Arthro-7® in relieving symptoms of osteoarthritis with mild to moderate arthralgia

Qingwen Xie,1 Tian Zhou,2 Lawrence Yen,2 Mina Shariff,3 Tuong Nguyen,3 Kenneth Kami,3 Pingping Gu,3 Liang Liang,2 Jianyu Rao,2 Rong Shi1 1Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China; 2Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, 3Department of Research, DRM Resources, Costa Mesa, CA, USA Background: Osteoarthritis is a common chronic disease affecting aged populations. Conventional therapies tend to result in side effects when used long-term. Arthro-7® (Robinson Pharma, Orange County, CA, USA) has been used by osteoarthritis patients for more than 10 years in the USA and has showed promising effects at relieving osteoarthritis-related symptoms. A previous small, double-blind study has shown some positive effects of Arthro-7 in relieving symptoms of osteoarthritis. The current study was performed specifically in osteoarthritis patients with mild to moderate arthralgia. Methods: A total of 100 subjects over the age of 50 years old who were diagnosed with osteoarthritis and had at least one of the related symptoms were recruited to the study. After primary evaluation, 64 eligible males and females with mild or moderate degrees of arthralgia were randomly assigned 12-week treatment with either Arthro-7 or placebo. The primary outcome measurement was changes in the scores of the related symptoms before and after treatment, using the modified Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) 3.1 questionnaire. Prior to and at the end of the study, evaluations of symptom scores were recorded. Additionally, self-reported overall changes were recorded at the end of 2, 4, and 8 weeks of treatment and at the end of the study (12 weeks). Results: Arthro-7 improved most symptoms significantly compared with placebo, as indicated by significant reductions in symptom scores. In the Arthro-7 group, 74.5% of the participants reported symptom improvement over the study period versus only 16.3% in the placebo group. Conclusion: In this study, Arthro-7 has shown potent effects in improving and relieving osteoarthritis-related symptoms, particularly joint pain, anchylosis, and difficulty going down stairs. Keywords: joint pain, anchylosis, arthroncus, WOMAC 3.1