Proper food, drug mix may ease osteoarthritic pain

New York - A veterinary professor at Kansas State University is considering new medication and food alternatives to the current methods of treating osteoarthritis in dogs.

Common treatments include analgesics, anti-inflammatories such as aspirin, and chondroprotective agents, drugs that lubricate the joint, according to Dr. James K. Roush, associate professor of clinical sciences, KSU Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.

"If you put a dog on analgesics, they may feel better the next day, but you may be increasing how fast the arthritis develops," says Roush, who teamed with Dr. Walter Renberg on the research. "If you put a dog on chondroprotectives, they don't get that much better quickly, but they'll be better two years from now..."

The latest research focuses on a drug currently available in Europe for humans, and a dog food high in N3 fatty acids and fish oil. The study is testing the medication on osteoarthritic dogs, which are lame in at least one leg. The medication does not have the side effects of aspirin.

If the study is successful, the FDA would conduct further testing and may then approve the first anti-arthritic drug for dogs that works without the side effects of analgesics.