Cetylated Fatty Acids Improve Knee Function in Patients with Osteoarthritis

OBJECTIVE: To determine the benefit of cetylated fatty acids (CFA) on knee range of motion and function in patients with osteoarthritis (OA).

METHODS: Sixty-four patients with chronic knee OA were evaluated at baseline and at 30 and 68 days after consuming either placebo (vegetable oil; n = 31) or CFA (Celadrin; n = 33). Evaluations included physician assessment, knee range of motion with goniometry, and the Lequesne Algofunctional Index (LAI).

RESULTS: After 68 days, patients treated with CFA exhibited significant (p < 0.001) increase in knee flexion (10.1 degrees) compared to patients given placebo (1.1 degrees). Neither group reported improvement in knee extension. Patient responses to the LAI indicated a significant (p < 0.001) shift towards functional improvement for the CFA group (-5.4 points) after 68 days compared to a modest improvement in the placebo group (-2.1 points).

CONCLUSION: Compared to placebo, CFA provides an improvement in knee range of motion and overall function in patients with OA of the knee. CFA may be an alternative to the use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs for the treatment of OA.

Note: The cetylated fatty acid treatment group received 6 capsules per day of a blend of 350 mg olive oil (30%) and cetylated fatty acids (cetyl myristoleate, cetyl myristate, cetyl palmitoleate, cetyl laurate, cetyl palmitate, cetyl oleate), plus 50 mg soy lecithin, plus 75 mg of a standard fish oil blend containing total omega-3 concentration of 37.5%, with EPA 17.56% and DHA 12.63%.

Reference

Hesslink R Jr, Armstrong D 3rd, Nagendran MV, Sreevatsan S, Barathur R. Cetylated Fatty Acids Improve Knee Function in Patients with Osteoarthritis. J Rheumatol. 2002 Aug;29:1708-12.

View complete study here: https://www.unicitynetwork.com/pdf/cm_plex.pdf

Key concepts: cetyl myristoleate, cmo, cfa, osteoarthritis