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The following scale was used to grade the Table 1. Characteristics of study subjects.
responses to treatment: a) completely Variable Boron group Placebo group All subjects
cured (i.e., pain-free and no restriction of
movement); b) much better but not com- Age 64.9 64.0 64.5
Years of arthritis 6.3 6.4 6.4
pletely cured; c) only slightly better; d) no Number of joints affected 4.2 5.1 4.7
different; e) slightly worse; f) far worse. Severity of joints affected 1.7 1.9 1.8
In addition, paracetamol was provided With pain on movement (%) 50.0 69.0 60.0
to the subjects to be used as an analgesic With swelling, etc. (%) 50.0 69.0 60.0
when required; the amount taken was used With restricted movement (%) 64.0 69.0 67.0
as a measure of pain. Also determined at Palliatives per day prior to visit 1 0.9 1.8 1.3
each visit were weight, pulse, blood pres-
sure and temperature, and blood variables
of white blood cell count, hemoglobin, Table 2. Characteristics of patients after 3 weeks on trial.
polymorphs, platelet count, erythrocyte Variable Boron group Placebo group All subjects
sedimentation rate (ESR), alkaline phos- Number of joints affected 4.2 5.7 4.9
phatase (AP), aspartate aminotransferase Condition of worst joint 4.1 4.6 4.3
(AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Condition of all joints 3.7 3.5 3.6
gamma-glutamyltransferase (,yGT), biliru- With pain on movement 1%) 45.0 65.0 56.0
bin, albumin, sodium, potassium, bicar- With swelling, etc. (%) 55.0 61.0 58.0
bonate, urea, and creatinine. The patients With restricted movement M%) 61.0 65.0 63.0
were examined also for other abnormalities, Palliatives per day between weeks 0 and 3 2.3 2.7 2.5
including FBA film abnormalities, mental
impairment, and inflammation or desqua-
mation of the skin.
Table 3. Characteristics of patients after 8 weeks on trial.
Results Variable Boron group Placebo group All subjects
The results were analyzed by SPSSX pack- Number of joints affected 4.0 5.8 4.9
age (8). Two-way contingency tables were Condition of worst joint 3.3 4.6 4.1
assessed by Fisher's exact test and the good- Condition of all joints 3.0 3.9 3.6
ness of X% test. Differences in ratings were With pain on movement (%) 27.0 70.0 54.0
assessed by Kendall's rank correlation coef- With swelling, etc. (%) 46.0 57.0 53.0
ficient. Table 1 shows the nature of the With restricted movement (%) 54.0 70.0 64.0
Palliatives per day between visits 1 and 3 0.8 2.5 1.8
arthritis presented by the patients in the
first visit. The affected joints were 7 necks,
7 backs, 5 shoulders, 1 elbow, 12 wrists, 2
hands, 3 knuckles, 4 hips, 25 knees, 1 Table 4. Ancillary clinical, hematological and biochemical data.
ankle, 3 feet, and 10 toes. There were no
significant locational differences, nor a dif- Values of patients Values of patients Overall
ference in average severity of arthritis Variable on supplement for 8 weeks at first visit or on placebo mean
between the two groups. Pain on passive Weight 62.8 a 71.3 68.9
movement was present at the first visit in Pulse 73.9 73.9 73.9
56 (60%) of the affected joints, as was Blood pressure 138/81 147/80 144/80
swelling, warmth, or deformity. Restricted Temperature 36.9 36.9 36.9
White cell count 7.3 7.5 7.5
movement was present in 62 (67%) of the Hemoglobin 13.1 13.7 13.5
affected joints. Polymorphs 4.2 4.6 4.5
Two patients, one each in the placebo Lymphocytes 2.2 2.0 2.0
and boron groups, dropped out of the trial Platelets 328.1 301.2 309.0
before the second examination-the place- ESR 19.3 21.9 21.2
bo patient probably ceased participation AP 78.7 84.3 82.6
AST 23.7 22.9 23.1
because of the lack of response to treat- ALT 20.9 29.9 27.2
ment, and the boron patient because of yGT 20.7 26.3 24.7
intercurrent medical problems. Neither Bilirubin 7.0 6.7 6.8
had improved nor worsened during the Albumin 42.8 42.0 42.2
short participation in the trial. Table 2 Sodium 139.9 140.5 140.3
illustrates the responses of the remaining Potassium 4.4 4.2 4.3
Bicarbonate 26.7 27.0 26.9
18 patients after three weeks of study. Chloride 102.7 104.0 103.6
Although slightly more patients on boron Urea 6.7 6.9 6.8
(four) than on the placebo (two) claimed to Creatinine 0.09 0.09 0.09
have improved during the first 3 weeks, 12 Abbreviations: ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; AP, alkaline phosphatase; AST, aspartame aminotransferase;
claimed either to have worsened or stayed ALT, alanine aminotransferase; yGT, gamma glutamyltransferase. a Difference largely caused by weight loss in
the same. Statistically, the groups showed one woman who was later found to have Hodgkin's lymphoma.
no significant difference in their responses bo; the difference was significant (p< 0.05, the placebo. Considering only those who
at this time. Kendall's rank correlation coefficient of completed the trial, 71% improved while
Between week 3 and the last examina- 0.34). There was also significantly less pain taking the boron supplement. The find-
tion at week 8, three additional patients on passive movement in patients taking ings suggest that boron (as sodium tetrabo-
dropped out of the trial, apparently because the boron supplement (p<0.001). rate decahydrate) is safe and beneficial in
of a significant deterioration in condition; Other observations during the trial were the treatment of osteoarthritis.
two were on the boron supplement, the that results did not vary by gender, and
other on the placebo. Table 3 shows the those who had suffered arthritis for a Conclusion
responses of the remaining 15 patients longer period of time did not respond as In conclusion, over 30 years of accumulat-
after 8 weeks on the trial; seven patients well as those with more recent arthritis. ing evidence indicates that boron is essen-
taking the boron supplement and one tak- Also, older persons tended to show a tial for healthy bones and joints. Both
ing the placebo claimed improvement, poorer response than younger ones. epidemiologic and controlled animal and
while the remaining two patients taking People under 60 years of age generally human experiments suggest that boron
the boron supplement and seven patients responded within a month, while those supplementation in amounts found in
taking the placebo claimed to have wors- between 60 and 70 needed up to two some diets throughout the world is effec-
ened or stayed the same. The favorable months to respond. tive in preventing or treating various forms
response to the boron supplement was sig- Table 4 shows that there were no appar- of arthritis. Thus, boron is a nutrient and
nificant (P<0.05, Fisher's exact test) and ent side effects to the boron supplementa- therefore should not be considered a poi-
was confirmed by the doctor conducting tion. The boron supplementation had no son or a pharmaceutical. Because boron is
the trial. significant effect on the clinical, hematolog- of apparent clinical and nutritional impor-
As shown in Table 3, on the last visit, ical, and biochemical variables examined. tance, efforts should be expanded to assure
the average condition of all patients' joints In summary, of those starting the trial, that people consume enough of this
was 3.3 for those taking the boron supple- 50% receiving the boron supplement important element every day.
ment, and 3.9 for those taking the place- improved compared to only 10% receiving
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