Supplementary management of symptomatic hand osteoarthritis with Pycnogenol®

The aim of this 4-week pilot registry, supplement study was to assess the effects of Pycnogenol^® compared to a standard management on hand osteoarthritis associated with pain. As Pycnogenol^® decreases inflammation and pain, chronic use of drugs, causing side effects may be reduced.

The registry patients included suffered finger pain associated with hand osteoarthritis All subjects used a standard management (SM). A supplementary group additionally used 150 mg Pycnogenol^® per day. In addition, a retrospective group with 40 comparable subjects using oral diclofenac was used for comparison. Forty-two subjects with hand osteoarthritis completed the study. The registry patients were former sport professionals, fishermen and subjects working with their hands in a common manual activity. 22 subjects took Pycnogenol^® in addition to standard management and 20 subjects followed the standard management only and served as controls.

The two groups were comparable at inclusion. No subject had to stop supplementation or the SM. No side effects were observed. After 4 weeks, spontaneous pain in the morning and pain after work were significantly reduced with Pycnogenol^® supplementation compared to controls (P<0.05). Residual pain at rest in the evening was significantly improved after 4 weeks with the supplement compared to controls (P<0.05). The number of subjects requiring pain medication during the 4-week study period was significantly lower in the supplement group (2/22) compared to controls (8/20) (P<0.05). Hand dynamometry results show significant improvement in hand-finger strength (due to decreased pain and stiffness) with the supplement compared to controls (P<0.05). At inclusion, all subjects presented hyperthermic joints, 2°C higher than the surrounding tissues as shown by thermography. After 4 weeks, the number of subjects with hyperthermic joints was lower in the Pycnogenol^® group than in controls (P<0.05). Both nonspecific markers of inflammation (ESR and C-reactive protein levels in blood) were significantly lower after 4 weeks in the Pycnogenol^® group than in controls (P<0.05). Other routine blood tests were normal at inclusion and at the end of the study. Within 4 weeks, plasma oxidative stress decreased by 14.4% (P<0.05) in the Pycnogenol^® group vs. 5.5% in the control group. The retrospective comparison with a group of 40 comparable subjects using oral diclofenac showed that after 4 weeks, the efficacy of Pycnogenol^® on improving pain in the morning, after work and in the evening, on hand-finger strength and on decreasing C-reactive protein was significantly higher (P<0.05) than in the diclofenac group (comparable, non-parallel group, CNPG).

In conclusion, supplementation with Pycnogenol^® was well tolerated and effectively controlled pain while improving grip strength in patients with hand osteoarthritis. All supplement subjects showed an improved operativity.