New Clinical Evidence for the Benefits of Three Supplements

Curcuma Extract Alleviates Pain in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis

A study on 101 patients with knee osteoarthritis has noted a reduction in pain with curcumin supplementation. Patients in the trial received 100mg of standardized curcumin extract or a placebo for 8 eight weeks.

Results of the study show that the curcumin supplement significantly reduced the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score for pain and numeric knee pain ratings. In addition, improvements on a timed up-and-go test, 6minute walk test, and the Japanese Orthopedic Association Score for Osteoarthritic Knees total score were greater for those who took the curcumin supplement when compared to those on the placebo, demonstrating the effectiveness of curcumin in alleviating pain due to knee osteoarthritis.

Lopresti AL, Smith SJ, Jackson-Michel S, Fairchild T. An Investigation into the Effects of a Curcumin Extract on Osteoarthritis Pain of the Knee: A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. Nutrients. 2021 Dec 23;14(1):41.

The Beneficial Effect of Alpha-Lipoic Acid Supplementation in the Management of Episodic Migraines

A migraine is a common, chronic, weakening, throbbing neurological disease accompanied by one-sided headaches, vomiting, nausea, and an aversion to light. Potential factors contributing to migraine incidence include nitric oxide hypersensitivity, mitochondrial dysfunction, and abnormal cortical activity.

An evaluation on 92 women with episodic migraines involved supplying them with 300 mg/day, twice a day, of alpha-lipoic acid or placebo for 12 weeks. Variables measured include headache severity, headache frequency per month, duration of attacks and lactate, nitric oxide, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 levels, and migraine clinical symptoms. Results show significant effects of alpha-lipoic acid supplementation on episodic migraines, including significant decreases in headache severity, frequency, headache impact test, headache dairy results, and migraine headache index score.

Kelishadi MR, Naeini AA, Khorvash F, Askari G, Heidari Z. The beneficial effect of Alpha-lipoic acid supplementation as a potential adjunct treatment in episodic migraines. Sci Rep. 2022 Jan 7;12(1):271. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-04397-z. PMID: 34997178; PMCID: PMC8742085.

N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) May Reduce Male Fertility Disorders After a COVID-19 Infection

Research is discovering various ways COVID-19 may affect male fertility, including cytotoxic effects on testicular tissue, virus division, and immunopathological effect.

A study on 200 men evaluated the effects of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) supplementation on semen parameters in men who recently experienced a COVID-19 infection. Subjects were administered 600mg of NAC per day for three months. Pre-supplementation results showed a significant impairment in sperm quality, sperm motility, and normal sperm morphology by those who had a COVID-19 infection. Supplementation with NAC significantly improved many sperm parameters, specifically sperm volume, sperm motility, sperm concentration, and sperm morphology. The results of the study show the negative impact of COVID-19 on men’s fertility and the positive effect of NAC supplementation in recovering normal sperm parameters.

Bahare Rafiee, Seyed Mohammad Bagher Tabei. The effect on N-acetyl-cysteine consumption on men with abnormal sperm parameters due to positive history of COVID-19 in the last three months. Archivio Italiano di Urologia e Andrologia. 2021 Dec21;93(4): 465-467.