A+HA Premium Oral Hyaluronic Acid Drink Functional Evaluation Trial for Delaying Joint Pain

Arthritis is an inflammation of one or more joints that is characterized by pain,stiffness (especially in the early morning or after exercise), swelling, deformation,and/or reduced mobility. Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative arthritis, is causedby abnormal damage to the cartilage at the ends of bones. Some patients are caused byinjury or congenital abnormalities in the proteins that make up cartilage.Once the cartilage tissue changes from smooth to rough, or into small pieces. Cartilageis gradually destroyed, and the normally smooth surface becomes irregular. Osteoarthritisusually occurs in joints that require weight load, such as the spine, knees, hips andback, and is usually preceded by some pain and Symptoms of stiffness (mostly stiffnessfirst, then pain), but swelling is not necessarily present. However, a small number ofthem will cause disability, but once the bones become more fragmented, they are morelikely to cause fractures. When osteoarthritis is more severe, the bones can overgrowinto osteophytes, known as bone spurs. When bone spurs develop, they can be detected withX‐rays, usually in the neck or waist near degenerative cartilage. Formation, thesephenomena will not produce any changes in appearance.Osteoarthritis usually does not occur in adults under the age of 40. Most patients areover the age of 60. Symptoms may be so mild that you are unaware of them until detectedby X‐ray. The incidence is almost higher in women than in men. three times. Degenerativearthritis is increasing among the elderly in Taiwan. It has become a very importanthealth problem and directly affects the quality of life. Pain control can improve thequality of life.Previous studies have shown that orally administered hyaluronic acid (HA) can bind totoll‐like receptor 4 (TLR‐4) on intestinal epithelial cells, thereby increasing thesecretion of the anti‐inflammatory cytokine IL‐10 and suppressor of cytokine signaling 3(SOCS3), while suppressing the expression of the pro‐inflammatory cytokine pleiotrophin,ultimately alleviating osteoarthritis. Regarding the regulation of cartilagedegradation‐related factors, HA can reduce irregularities on the cartilage surface aswell as the loss of cartilage tissue and chondrocytes by suppressing the mRNA expressionof MMP‐3, MMP‐9, and MMP‐13 in cartilage tissue. In terms of oxidative stress, HA mayalso alleviate cartilage damage by downregulating inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS),thereby reducing nitric oxide (NO) production, and by inhibiting cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2)and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production. To further enhance its efficacy in improvingosteoarthritis, hyaluronic acid was combined with glucosamine and chondroitin. Previousstudies have demonstrated that these two ingredients can improve connective tissuefunction and reduce cartilage matrix degradation. Therefore, the aim of this study was toinvestigate the effects of A+HA premium oral hyaluronic acid drink on improving kneepain.