Current position of chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine sulfate in the therapy of osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a chronic disease that causes the development of permanent disability of the patient and is a significant social and economic burden on the health care system of developed countries. It should be noted that the current variability of approaches to the treatment of osteoarthritis is due to a number of factors, including differences in etiology, severity of course, and clinical symptomatology of the disease, which must be analyzed and taken into account when choosing therapy. The modern approach to therapy of osteoarthritis includes the use of symptomatic slow-acting drugs (SYSADOA). Objective: to review the literature data on the role of SYSADOA in the therapeutic arsenal of patients with osteoarthritis. Materials and methods. Literature review and analysis was conducted by keyword using electronic resources of PubMed, MedLine databases in the period from 2010 to 2023. Results. The analysis of the studies conducted to date on the establishment, validity and feasibility of the group of symptomatic slow-acting drugs in the therapy of OA to control the progression of the disease showed the presence of very controversial and debatable provisions, which is associated with a diverse range of available glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate drugs. The greatest evidence base and efficacy are found in prescription preparations of crystalline glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate. Conclusion. The use of SYSADOA requires further study, including randomized placebo-controlled trials using modern joint imaging techniques.