Vitamin E is ineffective for symptomatic relief of knee osteoarthritis: a six month double blind, randomised, placebo controlled study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: There is a putative role for antioxidant treatment in osteoarthritis (OA) based on animal, epidemiological, and human clinical studies. Vitamin E, a fat soluble vitamin, is one of the major dietary antioxidants. Short term clinical studies using vitamin E in the form of alpha-tocopherol suggested a benefit over placebo of similar dimension to that of diclofenac for relief of OA pain. METHODS: A six month, double blind, randomised, placebo controlled study of vitamin E 500 IU/day was carried out. Primary outcome measures were pain, stiffness, and function. Statistical analysis was performed on an intention to treat basis. RESULTS: 77 patients were included in the study. Vitamin E s..