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. 2024 Aug 13;21(8):e1004440. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004440

Oral resveratrol in adults with knee osteoarthritis: A randomized placebo-controlled trial (ARTHROL)

Christelle Nguyen 1,2,3,*, Emmanuel Coudeyre 4, Isabelle Boutron 1,5,6, Gabriel Baron 5, Camille Daste 1,2,6, Marie-Martine Lefèvre-Colau 1,2,7,8, Jérémie Sellam 9,10, Jennifer Zauderer 2, Francis Berenbaum 9,10, François Rannou 1,2,3
Editor: Matthew James Parkes11
PMCID: PMC11321588  PMID: 39137167

Abstract

Background

Resveratrol is a natural compound found in red wine. It has demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties in preclinical models. We compared the effect of oral resveratrol in a new patented formulation to oral placebo for individuals with painful knee osteoarthritis.

Methods and findings

ARTHROL was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase 3 trial conducted in 3 tertiary care centers in France. We recruited adults who fulfilled the 1986 American College of Rheumatology criteria for knee osteoarthritis and reported a pain intensity score of at least 40 on an 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS) in 10-point increments (0, no pain, to 100, maximal pain). Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) by using a computer-generated randomization list with permuted blocks of variable size (2, 4, or 6) to receive oral resveratrol (40 mg [2 caplets] twice a day for 1 week, then 20 mg [1 caplet] twice a day; resveratrol group) or matched oral placebo (placebo group) for 6 months. The primary outcome was the mean change from baseline in knee pain on a self-administered 11-point pain NRS at 3 months. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: (NCT02905799).

Between October 20, 2017 and November 8, 2021, we assessed 649 individuals for eligibility, and from November 9, 2017, we recruited 142 (22%) participants (mean age 61.4 years [standard deviation (SD) 9.6] and 101 [71%] women); 71 (50%) were randomly assigned to the resveratrol group and 71 (50%) to the placebo group. At baseline, the mean knee pain score was 56.2/100 (SD 13.5). At 3 months, the mean reduction in knee pain was −15.7 (95% confidence interval (CI), −21.1 to −10.3) in the resveratrol group and −15.2 (95% CI, −20.5 to −9.8) in the placebo group (absolute difference −0.6 [95% CI, −8.0 to 6.9]; p = 0.88). Serious adverse events (not related to the interventions) occurred in 3 (4%) in the resveratrol group and 2 (3%) in the placebo group. Our study has limitations in that it was underpowered and the effect size, estimated to be 0.55, was optimistically estimated.

Conclusions

In this study, we observed that compared with placebo, oral resveratrol did not reduce knee pain in people with painful knee osteoarthritis.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02905799.


In a phase 3 trial, Christelle Nguyen and team compared the effect of oral resveratrol in a new patented formulation to oral placebo for individuals with painful knee osteoarthritis.

Author summary

Why was this study done?

  • Resveratrol has demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties in preclinical models and analgesic effects in painful conditions.

  • For individuals with knee osteoarthritis, evidence before the study suggested a reduction in pain and an improvement in function at 3 months after resveratrol supplementation as an add-on therapy with meloxicam as compared with placebo. The optimal formulation of oral resveratrol was not addressed.

What did the researchers do and find?

  • We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase 3 trial using oral resveratrol in a new patented formulation (Patent No. WO/2010/007252).

  • We recruited adults with knee osteoarthritis who reported a pain intensity score of at least 40 on an 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS) in 10-point increments (0, no pain, to 100, maximal pain).

  • Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive oral resveratrol or matched oral placebo for 6 months.

  • Oral resveratrol did not reduce knee pain at 3 months as compared with matched oral placebo in individuals with painful knee osteoarthritis.

What do these findings mean?

  • These findings do not support the use of resveratrol supplementation for reducing knee pain in adults with painful knee osteoarthritis.

  • The study has limitations in that it was underpowered and the effect size, estimated to be 0.55, was optimistically estimated.

Introduction

Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of disability in people over 40 years old [1]. Knee osteoarthritis affects middle-aged and older individuals and results in knee pain and knee-specific activity limitations [2]. For the medium and long term, non-pharmacological treatments, including education, exercise therapy, and physical activity, are recommended as first-line treatment and have been shown to reduce pain and improve function in individuals with knee osteoarthritis [3,4]. For the short term, pharmacological treatments, including oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and intra-articular corticosteroids, may be considered to alleviate specific symptoms such as painful flares in selected individuals but are not recommended in the long term because of unfavorable safety profiles [5,6].

Osteoarthritis-associated chronic pain is in part driven by low-grade local and systemic inflammation [7,8]. Therefore, solutions targeting low-grade inflammation with minimal adverse effects in the long term could be of interest [9]. Resveratrol is the parent compound of a family of hydroxystilbenes existing in cis- and trans- configurations in a variety of spermatophyte plants such as grapevine, peanuts, pine, or Chinese knotweed, and found in red wine [10]. No serious toxicity has been reported, and oral resveratrol is available over the counter in many countries as a food supplement in heterogeneous formulations and dosages. In the field of rheumatic diseases, growing evidence supports the anti-inflammatory, anti-catabolic, anti-apoptotic, and anti-oxidative properties of resveratrol in different articular cell types, along with immunomodulation properties for T and B lymphocytes in vitro [1123]. Resveratrol has also shown chondroprotective effects in vivo when injected intra-articularly in animal models of osteoarthritis [2426]. Finally, resveratrol is believed to contribute to the benefits of the Mediterranean diet and to the French paradox [27], that is, the observation of low rates of death from coronary heart disease despite high intake of dietary cholesterol and saturated fat. However, as pointed out by some authors, such a paradox could also be, at least partially, the result of collider stratification bias [28,29].

In clinical research, the data supporting the use of resveratrol for knee pain is scanty and of low validity. In 2 trials of postmenopausal women using 2 capsules a day containing 75 mg of >98% trans-resveratrol, Wong and colleagues and Thaung and colleagues found no significant difference in pain and no change in pain levels from baseline in the resveratrol group with an increase in the placebo group, respectively [30,31]. In a trial of individuals with knee osteoarthritis (N = 110) using 1 capsule a day containing 500 mg resveratrol, Hussain and colleagues reported a reduction in pain and an improvement in function at 1 month after resveratrol supplementation as an add-on medication with meloxicam, as compared to placebo [32]. The doses used in these trials were variable and not adjusted for the low bioavailability of hydroxystilbenes. In 2010, the Yvery laboratory (Marseille, France) patented a soluble galenic form to overcome the low digestive absorption of trans-resveratrol as a dry powder (patent no. WO/2010/007252). In a crossover study conducted in partnership with our academic group, the plasmatic peak of trans-resveratrol and its metabolites was 10-fold increased in 15 healthy volunteers receiving 40 mg trans-resveratrol in the soluble formulation (caplets) as compared with the original powder (capsules). The blood concentration also remained at significant levels for several hours with this soluble formulation [33].

In the current study, we assessed whether resveratrol supplementation in this new patented formulation, as an add-on therapy to usual care, could reduce knee pain at 3 months as compared with matched placebo in individuals with painful knee osteoarthritis.

Methods

Study design

ARTHROL was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase 3 trial conducted in 3 tertiary care centres in France (Cochin and Saint-Antoine Hospitals, Paris and Gabriel-Montpied Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand). Participants were recruited among inpatients and outpatients of the physical and rehabilitation medicine and rheumatology departments. We started recruitment on November 9, 2017, and follow-up was completed on May 12, 2022. ARTHROL is reported in accordance with the CONSORT statement (S1 Appendix) [34,35]. No changes in inclusion criteria or outcomes occurred after trial commencement. The protocol of the study was approved by the Comité de Protection des Personnes Île-de-France III on October 26, 2017 (no. Am8977-6-3447). The protocol was published before the enrolment of the first patient, in 2017 [36]. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. The original and final versions of the protocol and statistical analysis plan are available in the S1 and S2 Methods. All amendments to the original protocol were approved by our institutional review board and are reported in S2 Appendix. ARTHROL was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02905799) before trial commencement. All amendments to registration on ClinicalTrials.gov are reported in S3 Appendix.

Participants

The inclusion criteria were assessed by 6 board-certified specialists in physical and rehabilitation medicine and/or rheumatology with experience as trialists in osteoarthritis. Individuals were eligible for inclusion if they were at least 40 years old, reported pain involving the knee, reported pain duration of at least 1 month and a pain intensity score of at least 40 on a self-administered 11-point pain numeric rating scale (NRS) in 10-point increments (0, no pain, to 100, maximal pain) on the day of assessment, had X-ray evidence of knee osteoarthritis with Kellgren and Lawrence grades 1, 2, or 3 on X-rays, and fulfilled the 1986 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for knee osteoarthritis. We chose to include Kellgren and Lawrence grades 1, 2, or 3 on X-rays because: (1) we wanted to reflect the use of dietary supplements that are offered independently of structural damages; (2) our therapeutic target was pain and not structure; and (3) there is no consistent correlation between Kellgren and Lawrence grades and pain intensity. Exclusion criteria were history of inflammatory or crystal-associated rheumatic disease; neurological disorders involving the lower limbs; knee trauma or intra-articular treatments for up to 2 months; knee surgery for up to 1 year; contraindication and/or hypersensitivity to resveratrol; current use of anticoagulants or intramuscular, intravenous, and/or oral corticosteroids; uncontrolled diseases that may require intramuscular, intravenous, and/or oral corticosteroids; participation in another biomedical research; and inability to speak, read, and/or write French. Individuals excluded for temporary reasons could be rescreened.

Randomization and masking

Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive oral resveratrol (resveratrol group) or matched oral placebo (placebo group). An independent statistician (GB) from the Centre d’Épidémiologie Clinique (Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu, AP-HP, Paris, France) provided a computer-generated randomization list stratified by center, with permuted blocks of variable size (2, 4, or 6). Randomization involved use of a secured software (CleanWeb, Telemedicine Technologies SAS, Boulogne-Billancourt, France). Participants, investigators, statisticians, and treating physicians were masked to the allocation group. The Yvery laboratory, which supplied the caplets of oral resveratrol and matched oral placebo, was masked to the randomization and had no contact with participants, investigators, statisticians, or treating physicians. Caplets for both the resveratrol group and placebo group had identical presentations (i.e., size, color, and taste).

Interventions

Participants allocated to the resveratrol group received 40 mg (2 caplets) of resveratrol administered orally twice a day, 30 min before a meal with a glass of water, for 1 week, then 20 mg (1 caplet) twice a day for a total of 6 months. Resveratrol was supplied by the Yvery laboratory (patent no. WO/2010/007252). This dose was selected based on our previous study on pharmacokinetics, bioavailability, and toxicity of this formulation, showing that 40 mg of the soluble resveratrol was well absorbed and elicited biologically efficient blood levels (0.1 to 6 μm) for several hours [33]. Participants allocated to the placebo group received matched oral placebo. The placebo was also supplied by the Yvery laboratory, which ensured that caplets had identical presentations in the resveratrol and placebo groups. Participants in both groups were instructed to store the caplets in their original packaging at room temperature, with protection from humidity, light, and excessive heat. Participants were asked to return the pillboxes for caplet counts at the 3- and 6-month visits. Overall, 392 caplets were necessary for the whole duration of the study, but more caplets were supplied (i.e., 420). No specific measures to enhance adherence to the interventions were implemented, but the number of remaining caplets was counted and recorded in the electronic case report form at 6 months. The treating physician was allowed to prescribe non-pharmacological and pharmacological co-interventions as needed in both groups, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics. These were reported by the participant using a standardized checklist to be recorded in the electronic case report form at 3 and 6 months. No guidance was given to treating physicians and participants to control the use of analgesics and/or anti-inflammatory drugs, because resveratrol was used as an add-on therapy to usual care in the present study.

Outcomes

We selected our primary and secondary efficacy outcomes in accordance with the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) [37] and Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) recommendations [38] for Phase 3 clinical trials of knee osteoarthritis. The primary efficacy outcome was the mean change from baseline in knee pain in the last 48 h on a self-administered 11-point pain NRS at 3 months after randomization. The 11-point NRS is in 10-point increments from 0 to 100, with 0 indicating “no pain” and 100 “maximum pain.” We selected our 3-month primary efficacy outcome in accordance with the recommendations of the European Society on Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases for fast-acting drugs [39], which take into account guidelines from the regulatory agencies (i.e., US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency) [40,41]. Secondary efficacy outcomes were the mean change from baseline in knee pain at 6 months according to the function subscore of the self-administered Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) (0, no limitations, to 68, maximal limitations) at 3 and 6 months [42] and in patient global assessment on a self-administered 11-point global assessment NRS in 10-point increments (0, worst possible, to 100: best possible) at 3 and 6 months; the proportion of responders according to the OARSI-OMERACT at 3 and 6 months [43]; and the number of intra-articular injections of corticosteroids or hyaluronic acid and consumption of analgesics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs reported on a self-administered four-category scale (i.e., never, several times a month, several times a week, or daily) at 3 and 6 months and dichotomized for analysis as never versus all other responses (dichotomization was prespecified before analysis). To minimize the data collectors’ influence on participants’ answers, participants were instructed to complete self-administered questionnaires from home at 3 months and 6 months, before the scheduled follow-up visits. Safety outcomes were assessed by the investigator by asking an open-ended question, “Have you had any adverse events since last contact?”, at 3 and 6 months. The investigator assessed the causality relation between the adverse event and the administered treatment using the World Health Organisation-Uppsala Monitoring Centre method. All outcomes prespecified in the protocol were reported.

Statistical analysis

The original and final versions of the statistical analysis plan are available in the S2 Method. With an α risk of 0.05, power (1-β) of 0.90, and predicted mean difference in mean change in knee pain at 3 months of 15 (standard deviation (SD) 27) points, which corresponds to an effect size of 0.55, we needed 69 participants in each group. Estimating that 15% of participants would be lost to follow-up, we sought to include 82 participants in each group. Categorical variables are described with frequencies and percentages and quantitative variables with mean (SD).

To compare between-group differences in mean change for quantitative outcomes (knee pain, WOMAC function, and patient global assessment), we used a constrained longitudinal data analysis (using the REstricted Maximum Likelihood algorithm, REML) [4446]. This mixed model is a constrained full-likelihood approach, whereby both the baseline and post-baseline values are modeled as dependent variables (the constrained longitudinal data analysis model assumes that both the baseline and post-baseline measurements are jointly multivariate normally distributed because the baseline value is treated as part of the response vector). The true baseline means are constrained to be the same for the 2 treatment groups. The constrained longitudinal data analysis model can include all randomized participants with at least 1 baseline or post-baseline value. Such methods based on maximum likelihood are consistent under the missing-at-random assumption. Hence, this analysis provides an adjustment for the observed baseline difference in estimating the treatment. Differences in mean change from baseline with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) at 3 and 6 months after randomization and mean change from baseline in one of the 2 groups were directly estimated by parameters of the model. Mean change from baseline in the remaining group was derived by linear combination. As a sensitivity analysis, we also analyzed primary outcome with constrained longitudinal data analysis (cLDA) model when considering only baseline and 3 months data and with classical analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). To assess the impact of missing data, we also have considered Worst-case scenario and Best-case scenario in the framework of ANCOVA model. Worst-case scenario assumes missing NRS knee pain values at 3 months in Resveratrol group had the worst possible value (= 100) and those in control group had the best possible value (= 0). Best-case scenario assumes missing NRS knee pain values at 3 months in Resveratrol group had the best possible value (= 0) and those in control group had the worst possible value (= 100). For the primary outcome, we also report a cumulative analysis graph for percentage of responders with relative change in NRS knee pain score at 3 months [47].

The self-reported number of intra-articular injections of corticosteroids or hyaluronic acid at 3 and 6 months was dichotomized in injections (yes/no) after examining distribution (89% of values equal to 0). Consequently, all remaining outcomes were dichotomous. For these outcomes, a Poisson model with log link under regression standardization framework allowed for estimating the marginal measure of association. Results are expressed as absolute differences in proportions between groups, relative risk, and 95% CIs at 3 and 6 months after randomization. Because we had only 3 centers, we did not use generalized estimating equation approach as planned, but resorted on models with center as a fixed effect for quantitative and dichotomous outcomes, as recommended [48]. Safety outcomes were described in each group. All statistical tests were 2-sided, with P < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Data were analyzed by using SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute) with the procedure MIXED (constrained longitudinal data analysis model). The other analyses involved using R 4.1.1 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing). The R package stdReg was used for the log Poisson model.

Results

Participants

Between October 20, 2017 and November 8, 2021, we assessed 649 individuals for eligibility and from November 9, 2017, we recruited 142 (22%) participants; 71 (50%) were randomly assigned to the resveratrol group and 71 (50%) to the placebo group. The study was stopped before the prespecified number of participants was reached (i.e., 164), because of slow accrual during the 2020 to 2022 period (COVID-19 pandemic) and lack of further funding. Overall, 120/142 (85%) participants completed the allocated intervention (Fig 1). The mean age of participants was 61.4 years (SD 9.6), 101 (71%) were females (Table 1). At baseline, the mean knee pain score was 56.2/100 (SD 13.5) and mean duration of symptoms was 8.5 years (8.2) (Table 1).

Fig 1. Enrolment, randomization, and follow-up.

Fig 1

Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics of participants.

Resveratrol
n = 71
Placebo
n = 71
Total
n = 142
Age (years), mean (SD) 59.8 (8.9) 63.0 (10.1) 61.4 (9.6)
Women, n (%) 50 (70) 51 (72) 101 (71)
Body mass index (kg/m2), mean (SD) 28.3 (6.7; n = 70) 28.3 (5.6) 28.3 (6.2; n = 141)
Higher education, n (%) 47/71 (66) 48/71 (68) 95/142 (67)
Employment status, n (%)
 • Full- or part-time employment 39 (55) 33 (47) 72 (51)
 • Sick leave 3 (4) 0 (0) 3 (2)
 • Unable to work 1 (1) 3 (4) 4 (3)
 • Retired 28 (39) 35 (49) 63 (44)
Treatments in the previous 3 months, n (%)
 • Intra-articular corticoids and/or hyaluronan 13/70 (19) 7/70 (10) 20/140 (14)
 • Non-opioid oral analgesics 40/68 (59) 46/69 (67) 86/137 (63)
 • Weak opioid oral analgesics* 14/64 (22) 20/67 (30) 34/131 (26)
 • Strong opioid oral analgesic* 1/61 (2) 1/63 (2) 2/124 (2)
 • Oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs 32/70 (46) 29/70 (31) 61/140 (44)
 • Symptomatic slow-acting drugs for osteoarthritis 11/70 (16) 8/70 (11) 19/140 (14)
 • Physiotherapy 20 (28) 26 (37) 46 (32)
 • Home-based exercises 27 (38) 31 (44) 58 (41)
 • Foot insoles 32 (45) 32 (45) 64 (45)
 • Knee brace 17 (24) 15 (21) 32 (23)
 • Walking aids 9 (13) 4 (6) 13 (9)
 • Weight management 30 (42) 22 (31) 52 (37)
Clinical characteristics, mean (SD)
 • Knee pain intensity (NRS, 0–100)§ 56.9 (14.0) 55.5 (13.1) 56.2 (13.5)
 • Knee pain duration (years) 8.2 (7.6; n = 70) 8.9 (8.7) 8.5 (8.2; n = 141)
 • WOMAC function subscore (0–68)|| 44.1 (16.0) 44.4 (16.9) 44.2 (16.4)
 • Patient global assessment\(NRS, 0–100) 69.2 (20.1) 63.0 (22.0) 66.1 (21.2)
X-ray findings in medial or lateral femorotibial or patellofemoral, n (%)
 • Maximal KL grade 1 13 (18) 11 (16) 24 (17)
 • Maximal KL grade 2 22 (31) 23 (32) 45 (32)
 • Maximal KL grade 3 36 (51) 37 (52) 73 (51)

*Weak opioids include codeine, dihydrocodeine, and tramadol. Strong opioids include morphine, diamorphine, fentanyl, buprenorphine, oxymorphone, oxycodone, and hydromorphone.

§Higher scores indicate greater pain.

||Higher scores indicate more limitations.

Higher scores indicate better health.

n = 71 per group unless indicated otherwise.

KL, Kellgren and Lawrence; NRS, numeric rating scale; SD, standard deviation; WOMAC, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index.

Primary outcome

Baseline characteristics of patients with missing data on primary efficacy outcome data (n = 7) were and those with complete data (n = 135) were reported in S4 Appendix. The estimated differences between groups for the primary outcome were small, with wide confidence intervals (−15.7 [95% CI, −21.1 to −10.3] versus −15.2 [95% CI, −20.5 to −9.8]; absolute difference −0.6 [95% CI, −8.0 to 6.9]; p = 0.88) at 3 months (Table 2). Results of sensitivity analysis were reported in S5 Appendix. The evolution of knee pain during follow-up is shown in Fig 2. The cumulative analysis graph of proportion of responders with relative change in knee pain at 3 months (Fig 3) also illustrates similar range of response levels between the groups. For instance, when considering a response level of at least 20%, corresponding to the OARSI-OMERACT response for pain [43], the responder rate was 54% in the resveratrol group and 56% in the placebo group.

Table 2. Primary and secondary efficacy outcomes.

Outcome Resveratrol
n = 71
Placebo
n = 71
Absolute difference (resveratrol minus placebo)
(95% CI)
Relative risk (resveratrol vs. placebo)
(95% CI)
p-Value
Primary efficacy outcome
3 months after randomization
 • Change in knee pain (NRS, 0–100), mean (95% CI)§ −15.7 (−21.1 to −10.3) −15.2 (−20.5 to −9.8) −0.6 (−8.0 to 6.9) - 0.88
Secondary efficacy outcomes
3 months after randomization
 • Change in WOMAC function subscore (0–68), mean (95% CI)|| −9.2 (−13.0 to −5.4) −10.6 (−14.3 to −6.8) 1.4 (−3.9 to 6.7) - 0.59
 • Change in PGA (NRS, 0–100), mean (95% CI) 1.4 (−3.3 to 6.2) 1.2 (−3.5 to 5.9) 0.2 (−5.9 to 6.4) - 0.95
 • OARSI-OMERACT response, n (%) 34/66 (52) 34/68 (50) 1.5 (−15.3 to 18.3) 1.03 (0.74 to 1.43) 0.86
 • Intra-articular corticoids and/or hyaluronan since last contact 5/67 (8) 6/67 (9) −1.6 (−10.7 to 7.5) 0.82 (0.27 to 2.51) 0.73
 • Non-opioid analgesics since last contact, n (%) 38/67 (57) 39/64 (61) −4.5 (−21.4 to 12.4) 0.93 (0.70 to 1.24) 0.60
 • Weak opioid analgesics since last contact, n (%)* 12/62 (19) 14/64 (22) −2.4 (−16.5 to 11.7) 0.89 (0.45 to 1.76) 0.74
 • Strong opioid analgesics since last contact, n (%)* 1/62 (2) 1/60 (2) −0.2 (−4.9 to 4.5) 0.90 (0.05 to 15.55) 0.94
 • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs since last contact, n (%) 18/66 (27) 24/67 (36) −8.9 (−24.4 to 6.8) 0.75 (0.46 to 1.25) 0.27
6 months after randomization
 • Change in knee pain (NRS, 0–100), mean (95% CI)§ −16.8 (−23.4 to −10.3) −17.1 (−23.4 to −10.9) 0.4 (−8.4 to 9.1) - 0.93
 • Change in WOMAC function subscore (0–68), mean (95% CI)|| −12.6 (−17.3 to −8.0) −9.4 (−14.0 to −4.9) −3.2 (−9.5 to 3.1) - 0.32
 • Change in PGA (NRS, 0–100), mean (95% CI) 1.8 (−4.2 to 7.9) 1.9 (−3.9 to 7.8) −0.2 (−7.7 to 7.5) - 0.98
 • OARSI-OMERACT response, n (%) 29/60 (48) 34/66 (52) −3.6 (−21.1 to 13.9) 0.93 (0.74 to 1.43) 0.68
 • Intra-articular corticoids and/or hyaluronan since last contact 7/60 (12) 5/65 (8) 4.0 (−6.2 to 14.1) 1.51 (0.55 to 4.39) 0.44
 • Non-opioid analgesics since last contact, n (%) 30/59 (51) 33/63 (52) −2.6 (−20.2 to 15.0) 0.95 (0.68 to 1.34) 0.77
 • Weak opioid analgesics since last contact, n (%)* 9/60 (15) 17/62 (27) −12.3 (−26.5 to 1.9) 0.55 (0.27 to 1.13) 0.09
 • Strong opioid analgesics since last contact, n (%)* 1/60 (2) 1/60 (1) 0.0 (−4.6 to 4.5) 0.97 (0.06 to 15.25) 0.99
 • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs since last contact, n (%) 15/60 (25) 20/65 (31) −6.5 (−22.0 to 9.0) 0.79 (0.45 to 1.39) 0.41

*Weak opioids include codeine, dihydrocodeine, and tramadol. Strong opioids include morphine, diamorphine, fentanyl, buprenorphine, oxymorphone, oxycodone, and hydromorphone.

§Higher scores indicate greater pain, n = 71 in resveratrol group and n = 71 in placebo group at baseline, n = 67 and n = 68 at 3 months, n = 60 and n = 66 at 6 months.

||Higher scores indicate more limitations, n = 71 in resveratrol group and n = 71 in placebo group at baseline, n = 66 and n = 67 at 3 months, n = 60 and n = 65 at 6 months.

Higher scores indicate better health, n = 71 in resveratrol group and n = 71 in placebo group at baseline, n = 67 and n = 68 at 3 months, n = 60 and n = 66 at 6 months.

CI, confidence interval; PGA, patient global assessment; NRS, numeric rating scale; SD, standard deviation; WOMAC, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index; OARSI-OMERACT, Outcome Measures in Rheumatology-Osteoarthritis Research Society International.

Fig 2. Distribution of numeric rating scale knee pain intensity (0–100) at baseline, 3 and 6 months (n = 71 in resveratrol group and n = 71 in placebo group at baseline, n = 67 and n = 68 at 3 months, n = 60 and n = 66 at 6 months).

Fig 2

The scale is an 11-point numeric rating scale in 10-point increments (0, no pain, to 100, maximal pain).

Fig 3. Cumulative percentage of responders with relative change in numeric rating scale score for knee pain at 3 months.

Fig 3

At 3 months, data were available for 67 participants in the resveratrol group and 68 in the placebo group.

Secondary outcomes

The estimated differences for knee pain at 6 months were small, with wide CIs (absolute difference 0.4 [95% CI, −8.4 to 9.1]; p = 0.93) (Table 2). At 3 and 6 months, the OARSI-OMERACT response was 52% (34/66 participants) and 48% (29/60 participants), respectively, in the resveratrol group and 50% (34/68 participants) and 52% (34/66 participants) in the placebo group (Table 2). The estimated differences between groups or relative risks for rescue medication since last contact, including intra-articular corticoids and/or hyaluronan, non-opioid analgesics, opioid analgesics, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs at 3 and 6 months (Table 2) or any other secondary outcomes, were small, with wide CI (Table 2).

Safety

During follow-up, a total of 95 adverse events were reported in both groups: minor adverse events or serious adverse events were reported in 41% (29/71 participants) and 42% (30/71) in resveratrol (n = 52 events) and placebo (n = 43 events) groups, respectively (Table 3). Overall, 7 serious adverse events were reported in the 2 groups: 4 events for 3 participants (4%) in the resveratrol group and 3 events for 2 participants (3%) in the placebo group. No events were considered related to the interventions.

Table 3. Safety outcomes.

Resveratrol
n = 71
Placebo
n = 71
Total
n = 142
Patients with at least 1 serious adverse event or 1 minor adverse event 29/71 (41) 30/71 (42) 59/142 (42)
Patients with at least 1 serious adverse event 3/71 (4) 2/71 (3) 5/142 (4)
Total number of serious adverse events 4 3 7
 • Hospitalization for another reason 4 3 7
Patients with at least 1 minor adverse event 28/71 (39) 28/71 (39) 56/142 (39)
Total number of minor adverse events 48 40 88
 • Other musculoskeletal pain 10 8 18
 • Knee pain 10 3 13
 • Hospitalization for another reason 5 6 11
 • Abdominal pain 4 5 9
 • Diarrhea/nausea 6 2 8
 • Rhinitis 2 5 7
 • SARS-CoV-2 infection 0 3 3
 • Headache 2 0 2
 • Fatigue 1 1 2
 • Sinusitis 1 1 2
 • Anemia 1 0 1
 • Fall 0 1 1
 • Dyslipidemia 0 1 1
 • Dysphagia 1 0 1
 • High blood pressure 1 0 1
 • Insomnia 1 0 1
 • Drug interactions 0 1 1
 • Leukemia 0 1 1
 • Paresthesia 0 1 1
 • Bronchitis 1 0 1
 • Vertigo 1 0 1

Numbers are absolute frequencies or n (%).

Adherence to interventions

At the end of the study, the mean number of remaining caplets was 239.4 (SD 49.1, n = 58) in the resveratrol group and 222.2 (SD 27.6, n = 48) in the placebo group. We observed no imbalance in non-pharmacological and pharmacological co-interventions, as usual care, between the 2 groups at 3 and 6 months (S5 Appendix).

Discussion

In this randomized placebo-controlled trial of oral resveratrol for painful knee osteoarthritis, we found no evidence of a greater reduction in knee pain in the resveratrol than placebo group at 3 and 6 months. Therefore, one can assume that oral resveratrol may not be effective in this indication and may not have a biologic effect on the pain pathway, but some other reasons may explain our results.

First, even though preclinical data suggested the anti-inflammatory and chondroprotective properties of resveratrol in vitro and in vivo [9] and an optimized formulation of resveratrol was used for the present study [33], oral resveratrol at the doses and in the formulation we used failed to improve relevant clinical outcomes for individuals with painful knee osteoarthritis. A reason may be insufficient bioavailability of trans-resveratrol reached in the targeted tissues. However, we did not collect blood or synovial fluid samples to support this hypothesis. In a previous study in humans, Marouf and colleagues reported a decrease in serum levels of biomarkers of inflammation, including interleukin-1β and interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor, C-reactive protein, and complement proteins C3 and C4, with oral resveratrol [49], but found a nonsignificant correlation with clinical outcomes [50]. Furthermore, in these studies, variations in clinical outcomes were of the same magnitude for pain and activity limitations as we observed in ARTHROL, which suggests limited clinical effect of oral resveratrol on core outcomes of knee osteoarthritis, despite a reduction in biological biomarker levels. Overall, the question over whether the dose formulation might be considered large enough to produce a therapeutic effect remains unanswered. The pharmacokinetics study of this resveratrol formulation suggested the dose used did remain in the bloodstream of patients; however, there were no assessments of efficacy. Indeed, even though, the dose formulation was sufficient to increase anti-inflammatory markers production in the model of high-fat diet-fed C57Bl/6J wild-type mice in 3 different organs at the level of mRNA expression (i.e., liver interleukin-10, colon heme oxygenase-1, and hypothalamus plasminogen activator inhibitor-1) [33], whether these results may be translated in human inflammatory conditions has not been assessed yet. Further, some other studies used doses over 10 times that used in this trial [32].

Second, our population may be considered as having severe symptoms. At baseline, participants had long-lasting and high levels of pain and activity limitations as well as fairly severe structural damage (>40% participants with Kellgren and Lawrence grade 3 on X-rays). A more comprehensive and multidisciplinary therapeutic approach including a bundle of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments may be more appropriate in this population [3,4]. However, at baseline, most of our participants reported having received non-opioid analgesics (72%), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (44%), intra-articular injections (14%), as well as home-based exercise therapy (41%), weight management (37%), and physiotherapy (32%) in the previous 3 months. Furthermore, co-interventions were well balanced between the 2 groups. Therefore, in most participants, usual care was fairly optimal and resveratrol was offered as an add-on therapy.

Third, we observed a reduction in knee pain in both groups of approximately 17/100 points and 15/100 points at 3 and 6 months, respectively. In addition, the percentage of OARSI-OMERACT responders in the placebo group was 50% and 52%, at 3 and 6 months, consistent with previous reports [51]. These findings may be explained by the placebo and Hawthorne effects and a regression toward the mean. They reinforce the challenge in showing that a specific treatment is superior to placebo in knee osteoarthritis and in designing properly controlled trials.

Finally, concomitant analgesia was unlimited and prescribed as necessary by the participating physicians. Therefore, an alternative explanation for the negligible between-groups effect observed is that some participants may have masked the effect of resveratrol with their concomitant analgesics. Indeed, over half the sample was taking at least 1 analgesic at 6 months.

Our study has limitations. No guidance was given to control the use of other analgesics and we did not collect data on new initiations of therapy. Therefore, we cannot exclude that both recorded and non-recorded co-interventions might have affected efficacy outcomes. Demonstration of efficacy in adjunctive treatment trials is difficult even when the on-going treatment is maintained stable and has rarely been successful when used in knee osteoarthritis studies. For an initial demonstration of efficacy, particularly with small sample sizes, variability may have needed to be kept to a minimum. In the present study, participants and their providers could change treatments as needed. Thus, a metric to demonstrate efficacy would appear to be a reduction in on-going treatment. This was difficult at best and impossible without a more granular approach to evaluating daily medication use (concomitant and study) which was not done in our study. However, allowing co-interventions in both groups aimed at reflecting the use of resveratrol as an add-on therapy to usual care. Furthermore, in the comparative analyses, the estimated relative risk for rescue medication at 3 and 6 months was small, with wide confidence intervals. Our study was significantly under-powered. The effect size being estimated to be 0.55 was optimistic since there is no oral medical intervention for knee osteoarthritis that has a standardized effect size greater than 0.4 and many are closer to 0.3. The consequences of selecting such a large effect size were a reduction in the sample size estimate which, with dropouts, was 82/group. Even this number was not achieved (142 randomized versus 164 goal) due to limitations of enrollment period secondary to COVID-19 and funding considerations. Therefore, the failure to find differences between groups in the present study did not necessarily mean that no differences would be seen if the study were adequately powered. Moreover, the number of patients screened versus those randomized was low, despite the inclusion/exclusion criteria being relatively relaxed. Finally, dropouts and/or missing data could impact the results. However, given the low missing data rate of the primary outcome (7/142, 5%) and the fact that missing data are balanced in proportion across groups (4/71 and 3/71 in resveratrol group and in placebo group, respectively), it seems likely that missing data would have a minimal impact on the estimate of the primary treatment effect. Moreover, our worst-case and best-case sensitivity analyses indicate that our conclusions are robust to a wide range of assumptions regarding this missing data.

In summary, the estimated differences between groups in mean change from baseline in knee pain at 3 and 6 months were small, with wide confidence intervals. These findings do not support the use of resveratrol supplementation for reducing knee pain in adults with painful knee osteoarthritis.

Supporting information

S1 Appendix. Consolidated standards of reporting trials (CONSORT) checklist.

(DOCX)

pmed.1004440.s001.docx (31.2KB, docx)
S2 Appendix. Amendments to the original protocol.

(DOCX)

pmed.1004440.s002.docx (24.1KB, docx)
S3 Appendix. Amendments to registration on ClinicalTrials.gov.

(DOCX)

pmed.1004440.s003.docx (26.3KB, docx)
S4 Appendix. Demographic and clinical characteristics of participants with missing data on primary efficacy outcome (PEO).

(DOCX)

pmed.1004440.s004.docx (29.5KB, docx)
S5 Appendix. Sensitivity analysis on primary outcome.

(DOCX)

pmed.1004440.s005.docx (26.9KB, docx)
S6 Appendix. Non-pharmacological and pharmacological co-interventions since last contact at 3 and 6 months.

(DOCX)

pmed.1004440.s006.docx (29.4KB, docx)
S1 Method. Original (version 1.1 of 14/12/2016) and final (version 7.0 of 23/03/2021) versions of the full protocol and publication of the protocol [36].

(PDF)

pmed.1004440.s007.pdf (21.7MB, pdf)
S2 Method. Original (version 1, October 3, 2022) and final (version 2, October 4, 2022) versions of the statistical analysis plan.

(PDF)

pmed.1004440.s008.pdf (417.9KB, pdf)

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Recherche Clinique, Entrepôts de Données et Pharmacologie GHU Paris Centre Université Paris Cité—Unité de Recherche Clinique (Mrs. Alexandra Bruneau, Mrs. Inès Chermak, Dr. Claire Du Ranquet, Dr. Laëtitia Peaudecerf, and Mr. Mady Diallo Traoré) for implementation, monitoring, and data management of the study; and Mrs. Laura Smales for professional copyediting. Oral resveratrol and matched oral placebo were supplied by the Yvery laboratory (Mr. Laurent Pechère and Dr. Éric Serrée) free of charge.

Abbreviations

ANCOVA

analysis of covariance

CI

confidence interval

cLDA

constrained longitudinal data analysis

NRS

numeric rating scale

OARSI

Osteoarthritis Research Society International

OMERACT

Outcome Measures in Rheumatology

SD

standard deviation

WOMAC

Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index

Data Availability

The full original protocol, dataset and statistical codes can be accessed by academic researchers by contacting Dr. Laëtitia Peaudecerf (laetitia.peaudecerf@aphp.fr). Data collected for the study, including individual participant data and a data dictionary defining each field in the set, will be made available to others. Deidentified participant data and a data dictionary will be made available. The study protocol and statistical analysis plan are available in the S1 and S2 Methods. Data will be shared without investigator support, after approval of a proposal, with a signed data access agreement, for research purposes.

Funding Statement

This work was supported by the Ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé (Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique National 2015: project no. 15-15-0234 to FR). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Decision Letter 0

Alexandra Tosun

18 Mar 2024

Dear Dr Nguyen,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript entitled "Oral resveratrol in adults with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized placebo-controlled trial (ARTHROL)" for consideration by PLOS Medicine.

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Alexandra Schaefer, PhD

Associate Editor

PLOS Medicine

Decision Letter 1

Alexandra Tosun

25 Apr 2024

Dear Dr. Nguyen,

Thank you very much for submitting your manuscript "Oral resveratrol in adults with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized placebo-controlled trial (ARTHROL)" (PMEDICINE-D-24-00858R1) for consideration at PLOS Medicine.

Your paper was evaluated by an associate editor and discussed among all the editors here. It was sent to independent reviewers, including a statistical reviewer. The reviews are appended at the bottom of this email and any accompanying reviewer attachments can be seen via the link below:

[LINK]

In light of these reviews, I am afraid that we will not be able to accept the manuscript for publication in the journal in its current form, but we would like to consider a revised version that addresses the reviewers' and editors' comments. Obviously we cannot make any decision about publication until we have seen the revised manuscript and your response, and we plan to seek re-review by one or more of the reviewers.

In revising the manuscript for further consideration, your revisions should address the specific points made by each reviewer and the editors. Please also check the guidelines for revised papers at http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/s/revising-your-manuscript for any that apply to your paper. In your rebuttal letter you should indicate your response to the reviewers' and editors' comments, the changes you have made in the manuscript, and include either an excerpt of the revised text or the location (eg: page and line number) where each change can be found. Please submit a clean version of the paper as the main article file; a version with changes marked should be uploaded as a marked up manuscript.

Please use the following link to submit the revised manuscript: https://www.editorialmanager.com/pmedicine/

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We expect to receive your revised manuscript by May 16 2024. However, if this deadline is not feasible, please contact me by email, and we can discuss a suitable alternative.

Don't hesitate to contact me directly with any questions (aschaefer@plos.org). If you reply directly to this message, please be sure to 'Reply All' so your message comes directly to my inbox.

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Sincerely,

Alexandra Schaefer, PhD

PLOS Medicine

plosmedicine.org

***Please note while forming your response, if your article is accepted, you may have the opportunity to make the peer review history publicly available. The record will include editor decision letters (with reviews) and your responses to reviewer comments. If eligible, we will contact you to opt in or out.***

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Requests from the editors:

***Please note: not all will apply to your paper, but please check each item carefully

GENERAL COMMENTS

1) Please cite the reference numbers in square brackets. Citations should be preceding punctuation.

COMPETING INTEREST

All authors must declare their relevant competing interests per the PLOS policy, which can be seen here: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/s/competing-interests

For authors with ties to industry, please indicate whether any of the interests has a financial stake in the results of the current study.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The Data Availability Statement (DAS) requires revision. For each data source used in your study:

a) If the data are freely or publicly available, note this and state the location of the data: within the paper, in Supporting Information files, or in a public repository (include the DOI or accession number).

b) If the data are owned by a third party but freely available upon request, please note this and state the owner of the data set and contact information for data requests (web or email address). Note that a study author cannot be the contact person for the data.

c) If the data are not freely available, please describe briefly the ethical, legal, or contractual restriction that prevents you from sharing it. Please also include an appropriate contact (web or email address) for inquiries (again, this cannot be a study author).

ABSTRACT

1) Please report your abstract according to CONSORT for abstracts, following the PLOS Medicine abstract structure (Background, Methods and Findings, Conclusions). https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/consort-abstracts/]

2) PLOS Medicine requests that main results are quantified with 95% CIs as well as p values. When reporting p values please report as p<0.001 and where higher as the exact p value p=0.002, for example. For the purposes of transparent data reporting, if not including the aforementioned please clearly state the reasons why not. When a p value is given, please specify the statistical test used to determine it.

3) Throughout, suggest reporting statistical information as follows to improve clarity for the reader “22% (95% CI [13%,28%]; p</=)”. Please be sure to define all numerical values at first use. Please amend throughout the abstract and main manuscript. Please note the use of commas to separate upper and lower bounds, as opposed to hyphens as these can be confused with reporting of negative values.

4) Please ensure that all numbers presented in the abstract are present and identical to numbers presented in the main manuscript text.

5) Please include the study design, population and setting, number of participants, years during which the study took place (enrollment and follow up), length of follow up, and main outcome measures.

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7) Please include the actual amounts and/or absolute risk(s) of relevant outcomes (including NNT or NNH where appropriate), not just relative risks or correlation coefficients (example for absolute risks: PMID: 28399126).

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11) Please include the clinical trial registry number in the abstract.

AUTHOR SUMMARY

At this stage, we ask that you include a short, non-technical Author Summary of your research to make findings accessible to a wide audience that includes both scientists and non-scientists (Please remove the "Research in context" section). The Author Summary should immediately follow the Abstract in your revised manuscript. This text is subject to editorial change and should be distinct from the scientific abstract. Ideally each sub-heading should contain 2-3 single sentence, concise bullet points containing the most salient points from your study. In the final bullet point of ‘What Do These Findings Mean?’, please include the main limitations of the study in non-technical language. Please see our author guidelines for more information: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/s/revising-your-manuscript#loc-author-summary

METHODS AND RESULTS

1) PLOS Medicine requests that main results are quantified with 95% CIs as well as p values. We suggest reporting statistical information as detailed above – see under ABSTRACT

2) Please present numerators and denominators for percentages (at least in the Tables [not necessarily each time they're mentioned]).

3) Please complete the CONSORT checklist and ensure that all components of CONSORT are present in the manuscript, including how randomization was performed, allocation concealment, blinding of intervention, definition of lost to follow-up, power statement. When completing the checklist, please use section and paragraph numbers, rather than page numbers.

4) Please include the study protocol document and analysis plan, with any amendments, as Supporting Information to be published with the manuscript if accepted.

5) Please present the safety data for the study including numbers of specific events and whether or not adverse events are thought to be related to the intervention.

DISCUSSION

Please present and organize the Discussion as follows: a short, clear summary of the article's findings; what the study adds to existing research and where and why the results may differ from previous research; strengths and limitations of the study; implications and next steps for research, clinical practice, and/or public policy; one-paragraph conclusion (no subheading).

FIGURES AND TABLES

1) Please provide titles and legends for all figures and tables (including those in Supporting Information files).

2) Please define all abbreviations used in each figure/table (including those in Supporting Information files).

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1) For supplementary figures and tables, please see the general comments under TABLES and FIGURES and amend accordingly.

2) We suggest reporting statistical information as detailed above – see under ABSTRACT. Please be sure to define all numerical values.

3) As for the main manuscript, please indicate whether analyses are adjusted to help facilitate transparent data reporting please also detail the factors adjusted for and present the unadjusted analyses for comparison. If not, please clearly state the reasons why not.

4) Please cite your Supporting Information as outlined here: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/s/supporting-information

REFERENCES

1) PLOS uses the numbered citation (citation-sequence) method and first six authors, et al.

2) Please ensure that journal name abbreviations match those found in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) databases (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals), and are appropriately formatted and capitalised.

3) Where website addresses are cited, please specify the date of access (e.g. [accessed: 16/09/2023]).

4) Please also see https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/s/submission-guidelines#loc-references for further details on reference formatting.

Comments from the reviewers:

Reviewer #1: The authors report the results of a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial of oral resveratrol in adults with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. The study was designed appropriately and the manuscript is clearly written. I have no doubt that the results are valid. My only request is that the authors delete P-values in Table 2 for the secondary outcomes. It is not appropriate to perform hypothesis tests on secondary outcomes if the primary outcome does not achieve significance at the 0.05 level.

Reviewer #2: This manuscript presents the results of a randomised placebo-controlled trial assessing the effect of oral resveratrol in patients with knee osteoarthritis. My comments relate to the statistical aspects of this manuscript. For the most part, the statistical analysis presented in the manuscript reflects that planned in the SAP, however I have a few questions and comments about the analysis and the presentation of results.

1. What is meant by "first cause of disability"? Is this the most common cause of disability in this group?

2. The "French paradox" is mentioned: the observation of low rates of death from coronary heart disease despite high intakes of cholesterol and saturated fat. Such a paradox, like the "obesity paradox", is likely to be, at least partially, a result of collider stratification bias. See, for example PMID: 37286200; PMID: 24270963. If this paradox is mentioned, that there is a likely selection bias explanation of this paradox must also be mentioned.

3. When the Hussain et al paper is mentioned in the Introduction, the changes within each randomised group are mentioned. It would be more appropriate to describe the change between groups that Hussain et al found when describing this paper, since change within groups is not what randomised trials are designed to detect.

4. The conditional longitudinal data analysis model applied by the authors has been the subject of criticism in the statistical literature - as pointed out in PMID: 20527014. A key criticism holds for the analysis presented here if restricted maximum likelihood (REML) has not been applied: if REML was applied, please state this. If not, please revise your analysis with REML applied.

5. When differences in mean change from baseline were calculated given the results of the cLDA model, were these derived as linear combinations of the estimated parameters from the cLDA model? Please provide a bit more detail in the analysis section.

6. In the SAP it was mentioned that GEE-based analyses were applied for binary outcomes, but this is not mentioned in the main paper. Please clarify if the planned GEE approach was used and specify what working correlation matrix was assumed. If the planned GEE approach cannot be applied please explain why.

7. Instead of stating that there was no difference between the resveratrol and placebo groups, it is more appropriate to say that the estimated differences between groups were small with wide confidence intervals. A difference between groups was observed - it was just not clinically meaningful was not estimated with a high degree of precision.

8. Were patients expected to take all supplied caplets?

9. Please provide a comparison of the baseline characteristics of participants who provided the primary outcome compared to those who did not. The implications of the drop out of patients on the results should be included in the Discussion. Why was only a complete case analysis pre-specified?

10. In the flow chart, it seems that patients were assessed for eligibility on certain characteristics after been randomly allocated to groups. Is this correct? What happened with the further participation of these patients?

Reviewer #3:

In this study, the authors aim to determine whether resveratrol supplementation as an add-on therapy to usual care, could reduce knee pain at 3 months in individuals with painful knee osteoarthritis.

The study holds clear scientific interest as numerous in vitro and animal studies demonstrate a significant effect of this molecule on inflammation. As the authors note, however, there are no clinical studies that have confirmed these findings. Importantly, the authors have modified the galenic form of the molecule, overcoming the low digestive absorption of trans-resveratrol by using it as a dry powder.

The clinical trial design is appropriate and aligns perfectly with the study objectives. It was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial conducted in 3 tertiary care centers.

Despite the study's limitations, such as the lengthy recruitment period, the lack of control over other treatments received by the patients or the inability to recruit the anticipated number of patients, the data from the study are interesting because these compounds need to be seriously studied in clinical setting. Indeed, there is very limited information available on this matter.

Minor point:

"but pain intensity reduction was minimal in the placebo group". Was it a real placebo or a meloxicam group?

Reviewer #4: My thanks for the invite to review this thoughtful, well conducted and reported randomised trial of resveratrol vs matched placebo for knee osteoarthritis.

Generally speaking, I find this paper to be of very high quality, and the thoroughness of the research team is apparent in the good study design, appropriate outcomes, and inclusion of additional documentation that help allow scrutiny and therefore boost transparency of this project - the teams' efforts are certainly appreciated.

I have several comments on the paper, but would not hesitate to recommend this paper be published in PLoS Medicine following authors' response to the following (minor) queries/comments:

- This trial is preregistered, and the statistical analysis plan and protocol are i

Decision Letter 2

Alexandra Tosun

25 Jun 2024

Dear Dr. Nguyen,

Thank you very much for re-submitting your manuscript "Oral resveratrol in adults with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized placebo-controlled trial (ARTHROL)" (PMEDICINE-D-24-00858R2) for review by PLOS Medicine.

Thank you for your detailed response to the editors' and reviewers' comments. I have discussed the paper with my colleagues and it has also been seen again by two of the original reviewers. The changes made to the paper were mostly satisfactory to the reviewers. As such, we intend to accept the paper for publication, pending your attention to the remaining reviewer and editorial comments below in a further revision. When submitting your revised paper, please once again include a detailed point-by-point response to the editorial comments.

The remaining issues that need to be addressed are listed at the end of this email. Any accompanying reviewer attachments can be seen via the link below. Please take these into account before resubmitting your manuscript:

[LINK]

In revising the manuscript for further consideration here, please ensure you address the specific points made by each reviewer and the editors. In your rebuttal letter you should indicate your response to the reviewers' and editors' comments and the changes you have made in the manuscript. Please submit a clean version of the paper as the main article file. A version with changes marked must also be uploaded as a marked up manuscript file.

Please also check the guidelines for revised papers at http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/s/revising-your-manuscript for any that apply to your paper. If you haven't already, we ask that you provide a short, non-technical Author Summary of your research to make findings accessible to a wide audience that includes both scientists and non-scientists. The Author Summary should immediately follow the Abstract in your revised manuscript. This text is subject to editorial change and should be distinct from the scientific abstract.

Please note, when your manuscript is accepted, an uncorrected proof of your manuscript will be published online ahead of the final version, unless you've already opted out via the online submission form. If, for any reason, you do not want an earlier version of your manuscript published online or are unsure if you have already indicated as such, please let the journal staff know immediately at plosmedicine@plos.org.

We ask that you submit your revision within 1 week (Jul 02 2024). However, if this deadline is not feasible, please contact me by email, and we can discuss a suitable alternative.

Please do not hesitate to contact me directly with any questions (atosun@plos.org). If you reply directly to this message, please be sure to 'Reply All' so your message comes directly to my inbox.

We look forward to receiving the revised manuscript.

Sincerely,

Alexandra Tosun, PhD

Associate Editor 

PLOS Medicine

plosmedicine.org

***Please note while forming your response, if your article is accepted, you may have the opportunity to make the peer review history publicly available. The record will include editor decision letters (with reviews) and your responses to reviewer comments. If eligible, we will contact you to opt in or out.***

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Requests from Editors:

GENERAL COMMENTS

1) The Editors agree with Reviewer #4 on the reinstatement of the p-values for the secondary outcomes. Please revise accordingly.

2) Please cite the reference numbers in square brackets. Citations should be preceding punctuation.

COMPETING INTEREST

Please add this statement to the manuscript's Competing Interests: "CN is an Academic Editor on PLOS Medicine's editorial board."

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The Data Availability Statement (DAS) requires revision. Please note that a study author cannot be the contact person for the data.

ABSTRACT

1) l.59: Please define ‘SD’ at first use.

2) l.61: Please define ‘CI’ at first use.

3) In the last sentence of the Abstract Methods and Findings section, please describe the main limitation(s) of the study's methodology.

4) Please change the sub-heading ‘Interpretation’ to ‘Conclusions’.

5) Abstract Conclusions: Please change to "In this study, we observed that compared with placebo, oral resveratrol did not reduce knee pain in people with painful knee osteoarthritis". You may add a short sentence about the implications for future clinical research.

AUTHOR SUMMARY

1) ll.69-87: Please remove the section ‘Research in context’ and provide the Author Summary.

We ask that you include a short, non-technical Author Summary of your research to make findings accessible to a wide audience that includes both scientists and non-scientists. The authors summary should consist of 2-3 succinct bullet points under each of the following headings:

• Why Was This Study Done? Authors should reflect on what was known about the topic before the research was published and why the research was needed.

• What Did the Researchers Do and Find? Authors should briefly describe the study design that was used and the study’s major findings. Do include the headline numbers from the study, such as the sample size and key findings.

• What Do These Findings Mean? Authors should reflect on the new knowledge generated by the research and the implications for practice, research, policy, or public health. Authors should also consider how the interpretation of the study’s findings may be affected by the study limitations. In the final bullet point of ‘What Do These Findings Mean?’, please describe the main limitations of the study in non-technical language.

The Author Summary should immediately follow the Abstract in your revised manuscript. This text is subject to editorial change and should be distinct from the scientific abstract. Please see our author guidelines for more information: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/s/revising-your-manuscript#loc-author-summary”

INTRODUCTION

l.88: Please provide a heading for the Introduction section.

METHODS AND RESULTS

1) l.154: We suggest introducing the abbrevation ‘NRS’ here (i.e., “…11-point pain numeric rating scale (NRS)..”).

2) ll.213-217: Please include the two links provided here as references and remove the links from the main text.

3) l.232: Please define ‘WHO’ at first use.

4) l.237: Please define ‘SD’ at first use.

5) ll.257-258: Please write ‘cLDA’ and ‘ANCOVA’ in full (“As a sensitivity analysis, we also analyzed primary outcome with cLDA (constrained longitudinal data analysis) model when considering only baseline and 3 months data and with classical ANCOVA (analysis of covariance).”).

6) l.272: Please write ‘GEE’ in full.

7) ll.281-283: Please remove the funding statement from the main text. The information should only be included in the metadata of the online submission form.

DISUCSSION

1) l.353: Please define ‘HFD’.

2) ll.354-355: Please write 'IL-10' and 'HO-1' and 'PAI-1' in full or add the definition in parentheses after the abbreviation.

3) l.398, please change to: “…COVID-19…”

REFERENCES

PLOS uses the numbered citation (citation-sequence) method and first six authors, et al. Please revise accordingly.

FIGURES

Figure 2: Please consider avoiding the use of red and green in order to make your figure more accessible to those with color blindness. Also, please write ‘NRS’ in full.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

1) Thank you for providing the CONSORT checklist. Please replace the page numbers with paragraph numbers per section (e.g. "Methods, paragraph 1"), since the page numbers of the final published paper may be different from the page numbers in the current manuscript.

2) Appendix 5: Please define ‘ANCOVA’

Comments from Reviewers:

Reviewer #2: I thank the authors for their responses to my comments on the previous version of this manuscript. I have only two follow-up comments.

1. I don't understand what is meant by "a failure to marginalize variance of differences in proportions" when describing why the pre-specified GEE-based approach was not used. Was the issue that random effects for only 3 centers were included? Please provide a clarification of this.

2. Page 19, line 414: I suggest changing "have low effect on the estimate…" to "would have a minimal impact on the estimate…". Further, I suggest changing "Moreover sensitivity analysis on impact of missing data confirmed that there is no evidence of difference between arms for primary outcome." To "Moreover, our worst case and best case sensitivity analyses indicate that our conclusions are robust to a wide range of assumptions regarding this missing data. "

Reviewer #4: My thanks for the invitation to respond to the revised version of the paper. I see that the authors have addressed the comments from all reviewers adequately and thoughtfully. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this paper for publication in PLoS Medicine.

The only minor comment I have for this revised version would be as follows:

Reviewer #1 states "My only request is that the authors delete P-values in Table 2 for the secondary outcomes. It is not appropriate to perform hypothesis tests on secondary outcomes if the primary outcome does not achieve significance at the 0.05 level." - I'd strongly disagree with this assertion. Please could the authors *re-include* the p-values from table 2.

Hypothesis tests of secondary outcomes should not be contingent on the primary outcome. When the primary outcome shows weak evidence of statistical significance, the related secondary outcomes can often provide insight as to why this may have occurred; and to exclude hypothesis tests of secondary outcomes which are unrelated or weakly related to the primary outcome, yet predicated on the primary outcome's statistical significance, is specious.

To give an example: If the primary outcome of a trial is mortality, it would be very odd to exclude hypothesis tests of the secondary safety outcomes (for example number of serious adverse events, hospitalisations, etc.) based solely on the fact that the mortality outcome was nonsignificant!

Yours sincerely,

Matthew Parkes

Research Fellow

Centre for Biostatistics

University of Manchester

Any attachments provided with reviews can be seen via the following link:

[LINK]

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General Editorial Requests

1) We ask every co-author listed on the manuscript to fill in a contributing author statement. If any of the co-authors have not filled in the statement, we will remind them to do so when the paper is revised. If all statements are not completed in a timely fashion this could hold up the re-review process. Should there be a problem getting one of your co-authors to fill in a statement we will be in contact. YOU MUST NOT ADD OR REMOVE AUTHORS UNLESS YOU HAVE ALERTED THE EDITOR HANDLING THE MANUSCRIPT TO THE CHANGE AND THEY SPECIFICALLY HAVE AGREED TO IT.

2) Please ensure that the paper adheres to the PLOS Data Availability Policy (see http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/s/data-availability), which requires that all data underlying the study's findings be provided in a repository or as Supporting Information. For data residing with a third party, authors are required to provide instructions with contact information for obtaining the data. PLOS journals do not allow statements supported by "data not shown" or "unpublished results." For such statements, authors must provide supporting data or cite public sources that include it.

3) Please review your reference list to ensure that it is complete and correct. If you have cited papers that have been retracted, please include the rationale for doing so in the manuscript text, or remove these references and replace them with relevant current references. Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript.

Decision Letter 3

Alexandra Tosun

8 Jul 2024

Dear Dr Nguyen, 

On behalf of my colleagues and the Guest Academic Editor, Matthew James Parkes, I am pleased to inform you that we have agreed to publish your manuscript "Oral resveratrol in adults with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized placebo-controlled trial (ARTHROL)" (PMEDICINE-D-24-00858R3) in PLOS Medicine.

I appreciate your thorough responses to the reviewers' and editors' comments throughout the editorial process. We look forward to publishing your manuscript, and editorially there are only a few remaining minor stylistic/presentation points that should be addressed prior to publication. We will carefully check whether the changes have been made. If you have any questions or concerns regarding these final requests, please feel free to contact me at atosun@plos.org.

Please see below the minor points that we request you respond to:

1) Abstract: ll.65-66, we suggest changing to: Our study has limitations in that it was underpowered and the effect size, estimated to be 0.55, was optimistically estimated.

2) Please check whether the Author Summary has been exchanged with the text provided in the file ‘PMEDICINE-D-24-00858R3_Author Summary.docx’.

3) References: For references [40] and [41] (where website addresses are cited), please specify the date of access using the word “accessed”, e.g. “[accessed: 02/07/2024]”.

4) Figure 2: Please write ‘NRS’ in full. We also suggest adding details about the scale, e.g., "The scale is an 11-point numeric rating scale in 10-point increments (0, no pain, to 100, maximal pain)."

5) Table 3: For the 1st, 2nd, and 5th rows, please add statistical information about the number in parentheses, e.g., "Patients with at least one serious adverse event or one minor adverse event (%)," or change the information below the table to "Numbers are absolute frequencies or n (%).”.

6) Appendix 5: Please define ‘NRS’, and ‘CI’ in the list of abbreviations.

Before your manuscript can be formally accepted you will need to complete some formatting changes, which you will receive in a follow up email. Please be aware that it may take several days for you to receive this email; during this time no action is required by you. Once you have received these formatting requests, please note that your manuscript will not be scheduled for publication until you have made the required changes.

In the meantime, please log into Editorial Manager at http://www.editorialmanager.com/pmedicine/, click the "Update My Information" link at the top of the page, and update your user information to ensure an efficient production process. 

PRESS

We frequently collaborate with press offices. If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper at this point, to enable them to help maximise its impact. If the press office is planning to promote your findings, we would be grateful if they could coordinate with medicinepress@plos.org. If you have not yet opted out of the early version process, we ask that you notify us immediately of any press plans so that we may do so on your behalf.

We also ask that you take this opportunity to read our Embargo Policy regarding the discussion, promotion and media coverage of work that is yet to be published by PLOS. As your manuscript is not yet published, it is bound by the conditions of our Embargo Policy. Please be aware that this policy is in place both to ensure that any press coverage of your article is fully substantiated and to provide a direct link between such coverage and the published work. For full details of our Embargo Policy, please visit http://www.plos.org/about/media-inquiries/embargo-policy/.

Thank you again for submitting to PLOS Medicine. We look forward to publishing your paper. 

Sincerely, 

Alexandra Tosun, PhD 

Associate Editor 

PLOS Medicine

Associated Data

    This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

    Supplementary Materials

    S1 Appendix. Consolidated standards of reporting trials (CONSORT) checklist.

    (DOCX)

    pmed.1004440.s001.docx (31.2KB, docx)
    S2 Appendix. Amendments to the original protocol.

    (DOCX)

    pmed.1004440.s002.docx (24.1KB, docx)
    S3 Appendix. Amendments to registration on ClinicalTrials.gov.

    (DOCX)

    pmed.1004440.s003.docx (26.3KB, docx)
    S4 Appendix. Demographic and clinical characteristics of participants with missing data on primary efficacy outcome (PEO).

    (DOCX)

    pmed.1004440.s004.docx (29.5KB, docx)
    S5 Appendix. Sensitivity analysis on primary outcome.

    (DOCX)

    pmed.1004440.s005.docx (26.9KB, docx)
    S6 Appendix. Non-pharmacological and pharmacological co-interventions since last contact at 3 and 6 months.

    (DOCX)

    pmed.1004440.s006.docx (29.4KB, docx)
    S1 Method. Original (version 1.1 of 14/12/2016) and final (version 7.0 of 23/03/2021) versions of the full protocol and publication of the protocol [36].

    (PDF)

    pmed.1004440.s007.pdf (21.7MB, pdf)
    S2 Method. Original (version 1, October 3, 2022) and final (version 2, October 4, 2022) versions of the statistical analysis plan.

    (PDF)

    pmed.1004440.s008.pdf (417.9KB, pdf)
    Attachment

    Submitted filename: (01) Response to reviewers.docx

    pmed.1004440.s009.docx (37.3KB, docx)
    Attachment

    Submitted filename: (01) Response to reviewers.docx

    pmed.1004440.s010.docx (31.5KB, docx)

    Data Availability Statement

    The full original protocol, dataset and statistical codes can be accessed by academic researchers by contacting Dr. Laëtitia Peaudecerf (laetitia.peaudecerf@aphp.fr). Data collected for the study, including individual participant data and a data dictionary defining each field in the set, will be made available to others. Deidentified participant data and a data dictionary will be made available. The study protocol and statistical analysis plan are available in the S1 and S2 Methods. Data will be shared without investigator support, after approval of a proposal, with a signed data access agreement, for research purposes.


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