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Is Collagen Type II A Cure For Arthritis and Heart Disease? |
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Page 3 of 10
The next step was to test oral tolerance of collagen
type II on human arthritic patients. Drs. Trentham and Weiner studied
ten people with severe rheumatoid arthritis. They eliminated the
standard therapies such as NSAIDS and methotrexate and fed the patients
pure collagen type II derived from chicken sternal cartilage. At the
end of the second month, six of the ten patients showed substantial
improvement and one showed a complete regression of the disease that
lasted 26 months with no side effects. The clinical response in this
study was defined as a 50 percent or greater reduction in swelling and
tenderness, a 50 percent improvement in morning stiffness, as well as
an improved 15 minute walk time and grip strength. Thus, there were
several objective and subjective criteria for measuring success. These
results are profound. As a matter of fact, this study demonstrated a 70
percent response rate of the most severe cases of rheumatoid arthritis
with no side effect, with these patients completely removed from
standard medications. Even the other 30 percent of the group had
improvement. And on the basis of this trial, the same doctors conducted
a phase II trial on 59 patients with, again, severe active rheumatoid
arthritis. Twenty-eight received the collagen type II, while 31
received a placebo pill. What is interesting is that those who were off
all drugs and taking collagen type II showed very significant
stabilization and improvement, while those on placebos continued to
deteriorate. In fact, four collagen type II patients showed a complete
resolution of the disease, while no patients in the placebo group
displayed any remission. Again, no side effects were detected. We see
that oral ingestion of collagen type II may well prove to be the most
effective natural means of arthritis management regardless of the form
of the disease.
The question becomes, now, how exactly is
collagen type II working to produce these incredible results. It
appears the mechanism of action is immune suppression through white
blood cells located in the GALT. These white cells devour some of the
collagen type II and then instruct the rest of the immune system to
stop attacking collagen type II, as these white cells identify it as
friend and not foe. Once the immune system is alerted to stop attacking
the collagen type II, there seems to be a proliferation of T-suppressor
cells. These are also known as T8 cells. Ultimately, this decreases the
number of inflammatory cytokines that are partly responsible for the
inflammatory reaction in rheumatoid arthritis. Part of the other
reason, and this is precisely why it works in osteoarthritis, is that
collagen type II has such a high concentration of glucosamine and
chondroitin, which 30 years of double-blind, placebo-controlled studies
demonstrate a strengthening of the cartilage, as well as an increase in
new cartilage cell production. These ingredients also have
anti-inflammatory properties and insure maximum water concentration in
the cartilage itself, which acts as a cushion during normal physical
activity.
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