Natural Eggshell Membrane Reduces Symptoms in Knee Osteoarthritic Patients

by | Dec 30, 2019 | 2019, Arthritis, Joint Health

Written by Angeline A. De Leon, Staff Writer. Study shows natural eggshell membrane to be a safe, cost-effective, natural intervention for pain management in osteoarthritic patients.

Protein - eggsOsteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent chronic rheumatic diseases in the world 1. Symptomatic knee OA specifically involves pain and stiffness in the knee and represents the most common form of OA, especially in individuals over 60 years of age 2. Therapeutic treatment for OA seeks to mitigate symptoms of OA and to improve joint function, usually using pharmacological agents, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs 3. As an alternative to prescriptive drug use, natural eggshell membrane (NEM) has shown efficacy in reducing joint pain and stiffness in patients with OA 4,5. NEM is a natural source of proteins essential to joint health 6 and demonstrates the ability to attenuate symptoms of OA and rheumatoid arthritis in animal models 7,8. In vitro and in vivo toxicity studies also report that NEM is a safe and well-tolerated nutraceutical product with no documented occurrences of serious adverse events in patients 9. To further assess the safety and efficacy of NEM, a recent study 10 published in the Journal of Arthritis (2019) evaluated the therapeutic performance of NEM in the context of moderate to severe knee OA (diagnosed grades 2 and 3).

A total of 162 participants (aged 40 years and older) suffering from grade 2 or grade 3 knee OA for the past 1-5 years were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-crossover study. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive 500 mg of either NEM or a matching placebo once daily for 30 days. After 30 days, the placebo group was switched to NEM for an additional 60 days, while the NEM group received active treatment for a total of 90 days. At baseline, Day 7, and Day 30, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) was administered. Joint range of motion (ROM) was also measured at each time point as well as on Day 90.

By the end of Day 7, WOMAC-stiffness score showed significant reduction in the NEM group, relative to placebo (2.6 +/- 1.8 vs. 3.4 +/- 2.0, p = 0.034). At Day 30, WOMAC-total (absolute treatment effect = 14.9%, p = 0.004), WOMAC-pain (12.3%, p = 0.023), WOMAC-stiffness (18.2%, p = 0.001), and WOMAC-function (15.2%, p = 0.001) were also reduced for NEM vs. placebo. The number of patients experiencing a 15% or greater decrease in WOMAC-pain (71% vs. 53%, p = 0.025) and a 20% or greater decrease in WOMAC-stiffness (48% vs. 30%, p = 0.022) was greater in the 90-day NEM group vs. the 60-day NEM group. No serious adverse events were detected for the NEM group.

In general, findings from the study point to the therapeutic efficacy of NEM in the management of joint pain and stiffness in patients suffering from knee OA. Not only was NEM deemed clinically safe from serious adverse effects, it demonstrated the capacity to improve multiple areas of the WOMAC test and produced effects that were rapid and long-lasting (90 days). Thus, NEM may be considered an effective natural intervention for more moderate to severe forms of knee OA. While a primary strength of the study relates to its relatively large participant pool and well-controlled design, potential limitations involve the absence of significant findings in relation to joint ROM and flexibility and the lack of a standard of care control arm in the trial.

Source: Eskiyurt N, Saridogan M, Sensel K, et al. Efficacy and safety of natural eggshell membrane (NEM®) in patients with grade 2/3 knee osteoarthritis: a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-crossover clinical study. Journal of Arthritis. 2019; 8: 4.

 © 2019 Eskiyurt N, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Click here to read the full text study.

Posted December 30, 2019.

Angeline A. De Leon, MA, graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2010, completing a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a concentration in neuroscience. She received her master’s degree from The Ohio State University in 2013, where she studied clinical neuroscience within an integrative health program. Her specialized area of research involves the complementary use of neuroimaging and neuropsychology-based methodologies to examine how lifestyle factors, such as physical activity and meditation, can influence brain plasticity and enhance overall connectivity.

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