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[RC] Adequan, Chondroprotec, IM Glucosamine - Kristi SchaafDue to a misunderstanding of terminology on my part, when I ordered "generic Adequan" from my vet, I received IM Glucosamine. So, I did some reserach on what I had in hand and how it differed from the chemical structure/effect of Adequan. I found a recently published study that compared Adequan, Chondroprotec and Acetyl-de-glucosamine (Journal of Veterinary Science, July 2003, pgs.295-300), and I'll share some of what it reported. The study included 30 horses that were subjected to a CFA carpitis model (ie made lame), and then a blind study was done on their improvement. There were several measures done (lameness, carpal flexion, stride length, carpal circumference), but due to space I'll share only the lameness score. After 33 days, Group A (Adequan) had an 87% recovery, and Group B (Chondroprotec) and Group C (IM GL) showed an approx 53% recovery. Something interesting to me was that the study reports that Chondroprotec is actually chemically different than Adequan!! Taken from the article: "laboratory analysis of this compound (Chondroprotect) has shown that it is actually chondroitin sulfate (a monosulfated GAG) of molecular weight of 16,000-33,000 Daltons. It is thus not chemically the same as PSGAG (Adequan)". The article makes the argument that the erroneously named 'generic Adequans' (Chondropotec and IM GL) are chemically different and inferior products. It points out the differences in chemical makeup and Dalton weight, the significant effectiveness differences shown in the study, and the lack of efficacy/safety studies and FDA approval for the generics. It even advises veterinarians of the risk liability of using them. I did notice that the study was funded by a grant from the makers of Adequan, sooo....is there a chance that the research is Adequan biased, or is it truly (as I would hope) an impartial study in a refereed journal? At any rate, since I have the IM GL, I'm going to use it, but now I wonder if my money would have been better spent on the pricier Adequan (I paid $5 a dose for the IM GL, which was a big tipoff to me that I DIDN'T have an Adequan equal)...Kristi iluvdez at yahoo dot com __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - File online by April 15th http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html ============================================================ People in Alabama swear by manure tea as an herbal remedy for colds. ~ Lisa Redmond ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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