This year’s international Bone and Joint Decade Award for Clinical and Experimental Cartilage Research in Osteoarthritis goes to a German medical scientist: Professor Dr. Thomas Aigner, University of Leipzig, Germany. The sponsor of the 25,000 euro research award is the GELITA Health Initiative (GHI).

A clinical study published in Current Medical Research and Opinion, Vol. 24, No. 5, 2008, 1485–1496 shows that the administration of collagen hydrolysate reduces joint symptoms brought about by mechanical stress. Significant improvement was demonstrated in the case of the knee, the joint most frequently affected by pain.

The study was carried out at the Faculty for Nutrition and Sports Nutrition in conjunction with the Faculty for Orthopedic Surgery and Rehabilitation at Penn State University, USA.

The Bone and Joint Decade (BJD) was launched at the start of this decade to "raise awareness and promote positive actions to combat the suffering and costs to society associated with musculoskeletal disorders such as joint diseases."