them to my patients who were not able to tolerate
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications because of
their side effects. These were patients who had few
treatment alternatives. One patient with chronic pain in her
hip, whose X-rays demonstrated severe osteoarthritis,
was contemplating hip replacement surgery. After taking
glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, her pain and
disability had decreased significantly and she as yet has
not required the surgery. Other patients suffering from
severe osteoarthritis reported similar results, so I began to
expand the indications of these two substances. I’ve been
using glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate for two years
now. My patients and I are gratified at the positive results.
     American physicians have been criticized for their
failure to use glucosamine and chondroitin sulfates. But
American physicians are reluctant to use anything not
proven effective in American studies, and the European
data has not yet been duplicated in the United States. Why
haven’t there been American studies on these
substances? Great question. As you’ll learn from reading
this book, it all boils down to money. Glucosamine and
chondroitin sulfates, both natural substances, cannot be
given the financial protection of a patent, so the drug
companies lack financial incentives to promote them. And
so the story of these two promising “osteoarthritis
therapies” has not yet been told here in the United States.
     I am currently conducting the first human double blind,
prospective, randomized study of these substances in the
United States. We will be working with a total of 100
people suffering from mind to moderate osteoarthritis of
the knee. For six months, the patients will be evaluated for
pain and disability, both before and after taking the
supplements or the placebo.
     Everyone with osteoarthritis and that includes a great
many people in this country and abroad deserve to know
the facts contained within this book. I congratulate Dr.
Theodosakis, Dr. Fox, and Ms. Adderly for their significant
contribution to the lay medical literature. It’s about time!
                                      Amal Das, M.D.