Gibson, RG. Gibson. S.L.M, Conway, V., et al. Perna Canaliculus on the treatment of Arthritis.


Introduction

This was the first long term double blind clinical study to be conducted on the mussel extract and it produced very exciting results. The results indicated that the product was not only successful in treating the rheumatoid forms of arthritis but also osteo arthritis.

In a preliminary test carried out with 86 patients, 55 had rheumatoid arthritis and 31 had osteo arthritis. The trial results indicated that 67.9% of the rheumatoid patients and 39.5% of the osteo patients benefited from GLM supplementation . An interesting point relating to these figures is that they agreed with those compiled from unsolicited anecdotal reports originating from people in countries all around the world.

This was followed by a double blind, placebo controlled study involving an additional 66 patients. Of these, 28 had rheumatoid and 38 had clinical and radiological evidence of osteo arthritis. All patients were taking some form of NSAIDs.

Clinical assessments like the ones mentioned below were monitored before and after a 3-month trial period where the test group received 1050mg of GLM extract per day and the control group received the placebo:

• Joint mobility
• Pain index
• Swelling
• Function tests
• Laboratory indices

Results

Results of the study, after removing eight patients who dropped out due to unrelated reasons, were as follows: 76% of the rheumatoid and 45% of the osteo arthritis group reported improvement in the form of reduced pain/ stiffness. A total of 23 out of 58 (40%) in the study showed no improvement.
Grip strength did not significantly improve in the in the treatment group. Side- effects were minimal, apart from initial exacerbation of symptoms experienced by six of the 66 patients in the trial from two to four weeks after starting the study. This increased sensitivity lasted from one to two weeks after which the individuals generally reported improvement in their symptoms. Dosage of GLM Extract dropped to 750mg per day once a positive response was seen.