ARTHRITIS

BORON

1. This review showed that the incidence of arthritis is lower (0 – 10%) in areas of the world where the intake of boron is 3 to 10 mg/day.

Environ Health Perspect. 1994 Nov;102 Suppl 7:83-5. 
Essentiality of boron for healthy bones and joints.
Newnham RE.
PMID: 7889887

COPPER
(ppm = parts per million)

Animal Study
2. Supplementation with a diet containing copper (200 ppm) significantly inhibited the development of arthritis in rats given an arthritis-inducing agent.

Inflamm Res. 2000 May;49(5):214-23. 
Nutritional supplementation with copper in the rat. I. Effects on adjuvant arthritis development and on some in vivo- and ex vivo-markers of blood neutrophils.
Milanino R, Marrella M, Crivellente F, Benoni G, Cuzzolin L.
PMID: 10893044

Animal Study

3. Supplementation with copper (200 mg per kilogram body weight) reduced pain and inflammation in arthritic rats.

Life Sci. 1983 Feb 28;32(9):1023-30. 
Copper salicylate as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic agent in arthritic rats.
Jacka T, Bernard CC, Singer G.
PMID: 6600809

SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE

Animal Study

4. Treatment with injected doses of superoxide dismutase (10 mg per kilogram body weight and 30 mg per kilogram body weight 1 to 3 times/day) reduced paw swelling in arthritic rats.

Pharmazie. 2000 Jul;55(7):533-7. 
Treatment of adjuvant arthritis in mice with yeast superoxide dismutase.
Ratcheva I, Stefanova Z, Vesselinova A, Nikolova S, Kujumdjieva A, Neychev H.
PMID: 10944784

VITAMIN D
(1 microgram = 0.001 milligrams)

5. Daily doses of alfacalcidol (0.75 – 1.0 micrograms/day) for 12 months stabilized bone mineral density in cortical bone tissue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared to the control group.

Klin Med (Mosk). 2001;79(9):47-50. 
[Effects of alfacalcidol on mineral density of bone tissue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis]
[Article in Russian]
Gukasian DA, Nasonov EL, Balabanova RM, Smirnov AV, Vlasova IS.
PMID: 11641938

6. Supplementation with calcium carbonate (1000 mg/day) and vitamin D3 (500 IU/day) prevented bone loss caused by 5.6 mg/day corticosteroid treatment in arthritis patients compared to placebo.

Calcium carbonate (1000 mg/d) and vitamin D3 (500 IU/d)
Ann Intern Med. 1996 Dec 15;125(12):961-8. 
Comment in:
    Ann Intern Med. 1997 Jul 1;127(1):90.
Calcium and vitamin D3 supplementation prevents bone loss in the spine secondary to low-dose corticosteroids in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Buckley LM, Leib ES, Cartularo KS, Vacek PM, Cooper SM.
PMID: 8967706

7. Treatment with calcium (1000 mg/day) and vitamin D (400 IU/day) for 6 months improved spinal bone density in children with osteoporosis who were given corticosteroid treatment for rheumatic diseases.

J Rheumatol. 1994 Mar;21(3):530-5. 
Effects of nutritional supplementation on bone mineral status of children with rheumatic diseases receiving corticosteroid therapy.
Warady BD, Lindsley CB, Robinson FG, Lukert BP.
PMID: 8006898

ZINC

8. Daily treatment with zinc (120 mg/3 times/day) for 6 months decreased swollen and tender joints and reduced the need for anti-inflammatory drugs in patients with psoriatic arthritis.

Recenti Prog Med. 1989 Nov;80(11):577-81. 
[Zinc sulfate in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis]
[Article in Italian]
Frigo A, Tambalo C, Bambara LM, Biasi D, Marrella M, Milanino R, Moretti U, Velo G, De Sandre G.
PMID: 2623320