Eggshell Membrane: A Possible New Natural Therapeutic
28. May, 2010 
3 Comments
Background: NEM® is a novel dietary supplement composed of eggshell membrane that contains naturally occurring glycosaminoglycans and proteins essential for maintaining healthy joint and connective tissues. Two single center, open-label human clinical studies were conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of NEM® as a treatment for pain and inflexibility associated with joint and connective tissue disorders.
Methods: Eleven (single-arm trial) and 28 (double-arm trial) patients received oral NEM® 500 mg once daily for four weeks. The primary outcome measure was to evaluate the change in general pain associated with the treatment joints/areas (both studies). In the single-arm trial, range of motion (ROM) and related ROM-associated pain was also evaluated. The primary treatment response endpoints were at seven and 30 days. Both clinical assessments were performed on the intent-to-treat (ITT) population within each study.
Results: Single-arm trial: Supplementation with NEM® produced a significant treatment response at seven days for flexibility (27.8% increase; P = 0.038) and at 30 days for general pain (72.5% reduction; P = 0.007), flexibility (43.7% increase; P = 0.006), and ROM-associated pain (75.9% reduction; P = 0.021). Double-arm trial: Supplementation with NEM® produced a significanttreatment response for pain at seven days for both treatment arms (X: 18.4% reduction; P = 0.021. Y: 31.3% reduction; P = 0.014). There was no clinically meaningful difference between treatment arms at seven days, so the Yarm crossed over to the X formulation for the remainder of the study. The significant treatment response continued through 30 days for pain (30.2% reduction; P = 0.0001). There were no adverse events reported during either study and the treatment was reported to be well tolerated by study participants.
Conclusions: Natural Eggshell Membrane (NEM®) is a possible new effective and safe therapeutic option for the treatment of pain and inflexibility associated with joint and connective tissue (JCT) disorders. Supplementation with NEM®, 500 mg taken once daily, significantly reduced pain, both rapidly (seven days) and continuously (30 days). It also showed clinically meaningful results from a brief responder analysis, demonstrating that significant proportions of treated patients may be helped considerably from NEM® supplementation. The Clinical Trial Registration numbers for these trials are: NCT00750230 and NCT00750854.
Clinical Studies
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
This is very exciting and interesting information. While the study does have some limitations, I think it is very promising and warrants further long-term, larger-scale studies. I do have a few questions, however.
I know you have a NEM supplement for animals, but I prefer to avoid the additional calcium supplementation and other inert ingredients in this particular pet supplement. Thus, I was wondering the following:
1. Can the human version of NEM be given to a large, active dog (90lbs) at the same dosage of 500mg?
2. Can this be given as a long-term, lifetime supplement to a dog with osteoarthritis, or might it lose its effectiveness over time?
3. Can this be used “prophylactically” in canine athletes, or must they show signs of osteoarthritis, etc. first? Along these lines, can this be used in a dog who has x-ray evidence of OA in a joint but remains asymptomatic?
Thank you,
Carissa
Carissa,
We really appreciate your interest in our products. There are a number of NEM®-containing canine supplement products available from various manufacturers. And most of them do contain additional ingredients. For an active 90lb dog, it would be fine to use a human product at the same 500 mg dose. This would only be a slightly more than what is recommended for a dog of that size. We do not anticipate any loss of efficacy over time with NEM®, however without long-term clinical trial data, it is difficult to say with certainty. We have many customers who have been taking NEM® for 5 years or more and none have reported any loss in efficacy during that time. To date, we have not conducted any clinical trials to evaluate prophylactic use of NEM® as these types of trials are generally very large and cover a period of 10 years or more. That being said, based on our anticipated mechanism of action for NEM®, it should be quite effective for prophylactic use, particularly in preventing your asymptomatic dog from becoming symptomatic. It sounds like you have a number of pets that would benefit from NEM® and we look forward to hearing how they are doing. Thanks for your questions.
Thanks,
Kevin
Am trying NEM for the first time today. I will be thrilled with any results such as in your study! Wish me luck!