A European dietary supplement called S-adenosylmethionine -- better known as SAM-e (pronounced "sammy") -- is touted by some researchers as showing great promise in providing relief for osteoarthritis.

A compound that occurs naturally in all living cells, SAM-e is a key player in a process called methylation that affects more than 100 complex biochemical reactions in the human body, and contributes to the building blocks for cartilage.

Doctors in Europe have been studying and using SAM-e for more than two decades as a treatment for osteoarthritis and depression. A number of European studies, including controlled clinical trials, show it relieves osteoarthritis pain as well as NSAIDs and works as well as tricyclic antidepressants in improving mood.

In the sole U.S. study of SAM-e for osteoarthritis in 1994, two groups of men were given SAM-e for about a month, first in daily injections and then 600 milligrams (mg) per day in pills.

Those with milder osteoarthritis showed significantly less overall pain than the group taking a placebo as early as two weeks into the study. However, researchers said a group made up of older men with more severe osteoarthritis did not benefit from SAM-e.

The appropriate dosage of SAM-e isn't known, and few rheumatologists know enough about SAM-e to advise you. SAM-e also is not a cure: You have to keep taking it to get the effects, and it is expensive.

As with all supplements, loose regulation means that there is no guarantee that consumers are getting active ingredients in the products they buy.

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