Figure 1

Effect of PEA-LUT combination therapy on the clinical expression of CIA and on radiographic analysis. No clinical signs were observed in sham mice (A). CIA developed rapidly in mice immunized with CII and clinical signs like periarticular erythema and edema (B). Hindpaw erythema and swelling increased in frequency and severity in a time-dependent mode (L). CIA-PEA-treated mice demonstrated a significant reduction in the clinical signs of CIA (C). Co-ultramicronized PEA + LUT formulation showed an enhanced reduction of clinical signs of CIA (D). In addition, radiographic analysis was evaluated. No evidence of pathology in the femoral growth plate or in the tibiotarsal joints of normal mice (E, I). Hindpaws from CII-immunized (35 days) vehicle-treated mice showed bone resorption in the femoral growth plate as well as in the tibiotarsal joints (F, I). PEA-treated mice showed less bone erosion in the femoral growth plate, as well as in the tibiotarsal joints of CIA mice (G, I). A significant difference was showed between PEA and PEA-LUT combination therapy as well as between PEA-LUT combination therapy and LUT-alone treatment (H, I). Figure is representative of at least three experiments performed on different days. Values are expressed as mean ± SEM of 20 animals for each group. *P < 0.01 versus sham-control. °P < 0.01 versus CIA. ^# P < 0.01 versus CIA-PEA. ^§ P < 0.01 versus CIA-LUT.