glucametacin and Arthritis--Rheumatoid

A new, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent, glucametacin, was compared with ketoprofen in a double-blind, crossover trial. The drugs were given in total daily doses of 420 mg glucametacin and 300 mg ketoprofen for 20 days to 30 patients with chronic arthropathies of an inflammatory or degenerative nature. Both drugs were well tolerated and resulted in significant improvements in a number of criteria of disease assessment. Although there were no significant differences between results seen with the two drugs, there appeared to be trends in favour of glucametacin in respect to both efficacy and tolerance.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Clinical Trials as Topic; Double-Blind Method; Female; Humans; Indomethacin; Ketoprofen; Male; Middle Aged; Osteoarthritis; Phenylpropionates

Twenty-three patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 9 patients with other forms of rheumatic diseases were treated for 20 days with 420 mg glucametacin per day, given as three 140 mg capsules. The treatment produced anti-inflammatory effects which were rated as good in about half the cases, with improvement of the majority of the clinical parameters studied. There were mild digestive side-effects. One patient with gallstones developed biliary colic, but the relationship of this to glucametacin treatment was not clear. The results obtained in the 32 patients treated with 140 mg glucametacin capsules were very similar to those which the same authors had observed in a very extensive case series of patients with rheumatic diseases treated with the same daily dose, but given as 70 mg capsules. It is suggested that the new preparation, which halves the number of capsules taken each day, is to be preferred to the smaller dose capsules.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Capsules; Chronic Disease; Female; Glucosamine; Humans; Indomethacin; Inflammation; Male; Middle Aged; Rheumatic Diseases