The Cutting Edge Veterinary Podcast

STUDENTS: Jamie Cole and Rayne-Joy Dack

FACULTY MENTOR: Dr. Marina McConkey

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic, progressive, degenerative disease and the most commonly diagnosed arthropathy in dogs. Management entails a multimodal approach including NSAIDs, weight optimization, nutrition, and physical rehabilitation. Nutraceuticals are commonly included, but many lack scientific support. Omega-3 fatty acids (O3FA) have been proposed as an adjunctive OA treatment. O3FAs such as eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid are proposed to be chondroprotective by decreasing inflammatory mediators responsible for cartilage destruction, pain, and clinical signs of OA. We present evidence for the efficacy of O3FA supplements in the management of canine OA, and comparatively explore their role in multimodal treatment. O3FAs yield profound analgesic effects in canine patients. Studies report improvement in subjective scores of pain and quality of life, as well as significant improvements in clinical signs such as weight bearing, joint swelling, and activity. O3FA supplementation also resulted in rapid reduction of NSAID doses, fewer side effects, and fewer rescue doses. In conclusion, current evidence supports that O3FAs are an efficacious nutraceutical choice for pain management in canine OA. Limitations of current knowledge regarding O3FA use and study biases will be discussed. Future studies utilizing objective measurements for clinical efficacy and larger sample sizes should be pursued.