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It's been a full 90 years since Dr. Philip S. Hench and his colleagues from the Mayo Clinic discovered cortisone can be effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Cortisone was first prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis in 1949, or 70 years ago, after it was first produced commercially by Merck & Co. in 1948. In the seven decades since, hundreds of millions of people around the world have had cortisone shots for short-term pain relief and to reduce the swelling from both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Worldwide, corticosteroid injections into the hips and knees remain a common treatment for patients...

Can a dietary supplement pick up the pieces? Glucosamine, often recommended for joint pain, is one of the most popular supplements on the market. And considering the health concerns recently associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, I thought it would be worth looking into whether glucosamine lives up to the hype.Background: Glucosamine and chondroitin are often combined together and used to treat osteoarthritis (OA), which occurs when the cartilage covering the end of the bone near the joint breaks down. OA affects the knees, backs, hips, hands and feet of more than 21 million people over age 45. And, according to...