title: Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis by oral administration of bovine tracheal type II collagen.
abstract: We evaluated the efficacy and safety of orally administered bovine tracheal type II collagen (CGII) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Twenty RA patients received 0.5 mg/day of CGII for 12 weeks. Eighteen of them had improvements in the clinical parameters studied (swollen and tender joint counts, 15-m walking time, duration of morning stiffness, and physician's global assessment of disease activity). Anti-CGII antibodies were positive in 57% and rheumatoid factor (RF) in 71% of the patients with a short history of RA ( < or =2 years), whereas only 23% of those with long histories (>2 years) presented autoantibodies to CGII and 38% had positive RF. After the treatment, four patients showed reduced RF levels and all those with detectable serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) experienced its return to normal or levels below those at study entry. Although a placebo effect cannot be discounted, the oral administration of bovine tracheal CGII induced clinical benefits in 90% of the patients, without the side effects usually associated with treatment. This is the first study showing that feeding CGII can induce reductions in RF and TNF-alpha. The data justify further controlled studies to assess the long-term efficacy of this treatment approach.
authors: CEPROCOR (Centro de Excelencia en Productos y Procesos de Córdoba), Argentina.
authors: S F
authors: SF
authors: Ausar
authors: D M
authors: DM
authors: Beltramo
authors: L F
authors: LF
authors: Castagna
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Quintana
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Silvera
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Kalayan
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Revigliono
authors: C A
authors: CA
authors: Landa
authors: I D
authors: ID
authors: Bianco
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002417:Cattle; D003094:Collagen / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014132:Trachea; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen