Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT)

NCT ID: NCT00032890

Last Updated: 2009-01-21

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: PHASE3
• Total Enrollment: 1588 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2000-04-30
• Study Completion Date: 2004-02-29

Brief Summary

This study will determine whether glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate and/or the combination of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are more effective than placebo and whether the combination is more effective than glucosamine or chondroitin sulfate alone in the treatment of knee pain associated with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee after six months of follow-up. These substances, marketed in the United States as dietary supplements, have been widely touted by the lay press and by anecdotal personal experience as effective in treating OA. To date, however, only a few small studies have been published in the worldwide literature. The study proposed herein has been carefully constructed to definitively determine the efficacy of these agents.

Detailed Description

This study is a 24 week, placebo-controlled, parallel, double-blind, five-arm trial. The randomized treatment assignment will be stratified by participating study center and baseline pain score (mild, moderate to severe). In order to establish that the study is able to detect significant treatment effects for glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate and the combination of the two, celecoxib, already established to be effective, will also be compared to placebo. Patients will receive a rescue analgesic medication, acetaminophen, which they will be allowed to take for severe pain throughout the trial but not within 24 hours prior to a study visit.

The visits include a screening visit (Visit 1.0), randomization visit (Visit 2.0), and follow-up visits at 4 weeks (Visit 3.0), 8 weeks (Visit 4.0), and 16 weeks (Visit 5.0) and a completion visit at 24 weeks (Visit 6.0) after randomization or at any time patients discontinue the study drug or withdraw from the study. All patients require an X-ray to document the presence of their disease and all patients must have clinical and X-ray evidence of OA. X-rays are read at the individual sites and then forwarded to a central radiology center for confirmatory readings.

Patient evaluations consist of; 1) the Western Ontario and MacMaster (WOMAC) osteoarthritis index, 2) patient and investigator global evaluations of disease status and response to study medication, 3) evaluation of the index knee for swelling and tenderness, 4) SF-36, 5) the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), 6) Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), 7) clinical evaluation for adverse reactions and 8) reconciliation of study medications and rescue analgesia use.

The percentage of treatment responders is the primary outcome measure. A patient will be classified as a treatment responder if there is a 20% reduction from baseline to the end of follow-up in the WOMAC pain subscale.

Following the method by which the sample size target was derived, the analysis to address the primary hypotheses will involve 3 primary comparisons 1) glucosamine vs. placebo, 2) chondroitin vs. placebo, and 3) glucosamine + chondroitin vs. placebo. A side comparison will also be done between celecoxib and placebo. Each comparison will be done using Fisher's Exact Test, with a two-sided alpha of 0.0125.

GAIT Ancillary Study

Patients recruited at selected sites will be extended the opportunity to participate in a trial that administers blinded study agents for a total of 24 months. This study is a preliminary evaluation of whether glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate and/or the combination of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are more effective than placebo and whether the combination is more effective than glucosamine or chondroitin sulfate alone in altering radiographic progression in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee after two years of follow-up.

Expected Total Enrollment: 791

(*Indicates centers participating in the ancillary study, sites listed below)

Study start: April 2000; Study completion: March 2006

Primary Analysis

The primary analysis will be based on all patients with baseline and follow-up xrays, including those who withdraw from treatment. Inclusion of all patients with baseline and follow-up data will reduce the degree to which differential effectiveness biases the treatment comparisons. A second analysis will be based on all patients who remain on treatment.

Following the method by which the sample size target was derived, the analysis to address the primary hypotheses will involve 3 primary comparisons 1) glucosamine vs. placebo, 2) chondroitin vs. placebo, and 3) glucosamine + chondroitin vs. placebo. A side comparison will also be done between celecoxib and placebo. Each comparison will be done using the t-test for 2 independent samples, with a two-sided alpha of 0.0125.

The primary outcome measure is the change in joint space width between baseline and two years of follow-up as defined by the Buckland-Wright MTP protocol.

To evaluate long-term efficacy of the treatments, the two-year treatment response rate (defined as a 20% reduction from baseline in the WOMAC pain score) will be calculated. Paralleling the main study protocol, Fisher's exact test will be used to compare each active treatment arm to placebo.

Mixed-model analysis of variance using generalized estimating equations will be used to compare the % of treatment responders over time across treatment groups. Treatment of missing data will follow that discussed previously for the mixed-model analysis of change in JSW.

Safety will be evaluated by comparing the percentage of people withdrawing from study medications due to adverse events during the two-year follow-up period using Fisher's exact test. Time to withdrawal due to an adverse event will be evaluated using Kaplan-Meier life table estimates and comparison of treatment groups will use the log-rank test.

Conditions

Osteoarthritis

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: DOUBLE

Interventions

glucosamine

Intervention Type: DRUG

chondroitin sulfate

Intervention Type: DRUG

glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate combined

Intervention Type: DRUG

celecoxib

Intervention Type: DRUG

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

40 years and above, both genders, who have clinical and radiographic osteoarthritis symptomatic for at least six months.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 40 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

US Department of Veterans Affairs

FED

Sponsor Role: lead

Locations

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama, United States

*University of Arizona Arthritis Center

Tucson, Arizona, United States

*Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Los Angeles, California, United States

*University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, United States

*University of California San Francisco

San Francisco, California, United States

Northwestern University

Chicago, Illinois, United States

*Indiana University School of Medicine

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

*Arthritis Research and Clinical Centers

Wichita, Kansas, United States

University of Nebraska Medical Center

Omaha, Nebraska, United States

Hospital for Joint Diseases

New York, New York, United States

*Case Western Reserve University

Beachwood, Ohio, United States

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

*University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Arthritis Consultation Center

Dallas, Texas, United States

*University of Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Virginia Mason Research Center

Seattle, Washington, United States

Countries

United States

References

Clegg DO, Reda DJ, Harris CL, Klein MA, O'Dell JR, Hooper MM, Bradley JD, Bingham CO 3rd, Weisman MH, Jackson CG, Lane NE, Cush JJ, Moreland LW, Schumacher HR Jr, Oddis CV, Wolfe F, Molitor JA, Yocum DE, Schnitzer TJ, Furst DE, Sawitzke AD, Shi H, Brandt KD, Moskowitz RW, Williams HJ. Glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and the two in combination for painful knee osteoarthritis. N Engl J Med. 2006 Feb 23;354(8):795-808. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa052771.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 16495392 (View on PubMed)

Sawitzke AD, Shi H, Finco MF, Dunlop DD, Bingham CO 3rd, Harris CL, Singer NG, Bradley JD, Silver D, Jackson CG, Lane NE, Oddis CV, Wolfe F, Lisse J, Furst DE, Reda DJ, Moskowitz RW, Williams HJ, Clegg DO. The effect of glucosamine and/or chondroitin sulfate on the progression of knee osteoarthritis: a report from the glucosamine/chondroitin arthritis intervention trial. Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Oct;58(10):3183-91. doi: 10.1002/art.23973.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 18821708 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

GAIT

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

NCT00010790

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: nct_alias