Comparison of the use of omega-3 fatty acids compound from New Zealand green lipped mussel and fish oil in the treatment of canine shoulder and coxofemoral osteoarthritis

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the effects of omega 3 fatty acids compound from New Zealand green lipped mussel (PCSO-524) and omega 3 fatty acids in fish oil on clinical outcomes and on osteoarthritis biomarkers (chondroitin sulfate WF6 epitope and hyaluronan (HA)) in 46 osteoarthritis (OA) dogs; 39 dogs with OA hip joints, 5 dogs with OA shoulder joints and 2 dogs with OA shoulder and hip joints. The animals were presented at the Small Animal Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University. The dogs were randomly allocated into 2 groups; PCSO-524 and fish oil groups fed with the two preparations for 8 weeks. Lameness score, weight bearing score, radiographic score, range of motion and serum OA biomarkers (WF6, HA) were evaluated before treatment and at 2, 4 and 8 weeks after treatment. Lameness score, weight bearing score and ROM were significantly improved within two weeks after PCSO-524 administration while there were no statistically significant difference in all parameters of the fish oil group. At 4 and 8 weeks, lameness and weight bearing scores of the PCSO-524 group were significantly improved as compared with the fish oil group. Although the mean of radiographic scores was not significant difference among groups, mean of serum WF6 of the PCSO-524 group (262.46±162.24 ng/ml) was significantly (p<0.05) lower than that of the fish oil group (353.99±132.25 ng/ml) after eight weeks of administration. In conclusion, PCSO-524 administration could slow progression of osteoarthritis of the shoulder and hip joints in dogs.