Better Joint Justice

This ouch that hits below the belt, painful knee joints, can get a fellow feeling very down. Women get to feeling particularly low with knee osteoarthritis.

Phase II clinical trial results indicate that a new therapy, called Hydros-TA, provides quicker, longer lasting results than the currently available treatment.

Steroid-enhanced osteoporosis treatments are in the works.

Lawson Health Research Institute's Robert Petrella, M.D., Ph.D., and principal investigator in the COR1.0 study reports that Hydros-TA, which takes effect quickly and is long-lasting, offers patients a new therapy option that can provide OA patients a better quality of life.

This new therapy, Hydros-TA, uniquely combines steroids within a gel substance. It is purported to provide faster-acting, longer-lasting pain relief.

The most popular treatment used now is Synvisc-One, a gel-like substance injected in the knee that provides a replacement for the fluid loss associated with osteoarthritis. The gel also aids in pain control.

In this Phase II clinical trial, Dr. Petrella and his team compared the safety and efficacy of both Hydros-TA Joint Therapy and Synvisc-One. In this multi-center trial, 98 patieints, between the ages of 40 and 85 with a body mass index over 35, were given one of the two injections in the knee and monitored for six months.

The study results found Hydros-TA provided better, quicker pain relief with less adverse effects than Synvisc-One.

Dr. Petrella and Carbylan BioSurgery Inc., the makers of Hydros-TA, are planning a larger multi-center trial in the United States.

Results are considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.