Discussion
fatigue, pain
REGRESSION
In this study, we report the data of an exploratory, non-comparative, multi-centric trial investigating the effect of daily supplementation with FCH on subjects with moderate knee joint discomfort and loss of functionality.KOOS global score and subscales improved significantly between baseline, 1 month, and 3 months of supplementation, underlining a positive impact of the supplement on joint mobility. Interestingly, an effect was already observed after 1 month of supplementation, which increased with intake duration. While the quality of life of the subjects regarding physical functioning, role limitation due to physical health, energy and fatigue, pain, and general health significantly improved over time, no impact of FCH on the role limitation due to emotional problems, emotional well-being, and social functioning was observed. This could indicate that the effect of FCH on pain is independent of any psychological factors. On the other hand, subjects were selected and thus enriched for physiological parameters such as pain, and results measuring these outcomes are therefore prone to regression to the mean [In this context, determination of biological activities of FCH on inflammatory and catabolic pathways may provide further clues. Therefore, to strengthen our conclusions, we designed an An anti-inflammatory effect has also been described for eggshell membrane hydrolysate in vitro, another food supplement containing glycosaminoglycans and collagen type I used for the treatment of joint discomfort [Besides, it is worth noting that even though not statistically significant, a reduction in the use of pain killers could be observed (1 subject took paracetamol after one month and 2 subjects took paracetamol after 3 months, vs. 5 subjects taking paracetamol and 2 subjects taking AINS at baseline). The lack of significance probably stems from the facts that relatively few subjects took pain killers at baseline and any decrease did therefore not have a statistically significant impact due to the overall small sample size. In addition, the safety profile of FCH was found to be very good, which is in line with what has been described for other food supplements [