PAPERS

OSTEOARTHRITIS, also referred to as degenerative joint disease (DJD) or osteo arthrosis, is a disease process characterised by pain and lameness associated with pathological changes in the tissues of synovial joints, including the loss of articular cartilage. It has been suggested that 20 per cent of dogs over one year of age are affected by the progressive changes of osteo arthritis (Johnston 1997). There are no known cures for the disease and it is often managed by combinations of therapy, for example, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (Serni and others 1999) and analgesics, nutraceuticals, functional foods, physical therapy and ‘alternative ’ therapies such as acupuncture. Surgery has also been used, either to try to slow the pro-gression of the disease or to replace the whole joint (Cook and Payne 1997). NSAIDs can be defined as acidic anti-inflammatory agents that inhibit the enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX), which catalyses the con-version of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins and thromboxane. Ther