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June 12th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda MONDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) — It’s not good news for baby
boomers with arthritic knees: Injections of hyaluronic acid have little
effect on pain and no effect on function, according to a new analysis.
Worse, the injections may cause serious harm, Swiss researchers
found.
Hyaluronic acid — a lubricant in joint fluid that acts as a shock
absorber — declines with the wear-and-tear type of arthritis known as
osteoarthritis. When nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs don’t provide
relief, doctors sometimes prescribe injections of hyaluronic acid, also
called viscosupplementation.
“Unfortunately, there is no evidence to suggest that
viscosupplementation results in any relevant reduction in symptoms in
patients with knee osteoarthritis,” said study co-author Dr. Peter Juni,
professor of clinical epidemiology at the University of Bern in
Switzerland.
Moreover, his research suggested the injections could cause
gastrointestinal and cardiovascular problems and other harmful side
effects. As a result, Juni said he sees no role for the therapy.
“There is a concerning increase in adverse events, which should prevent
patients and physicians from using this approach,” he said.
The analysis is scheduled to be published online June 12 in the journal
Annals of Internal Medicine.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1997 approved the injections,
which are commercially available from several companies and much more
costly than pain relievers. In 2006, injections for a six-month period
ranged from $850 to $1,840, according to a pharmaceutical report.
For the study, Juni’s team reviewed 89 studies that compared injections
with either a placebo treatment or no treatment. In all, the studies
involved more than 12,000 adults aged 50 to 72.
The effect on pain was minimal, and the injections had no effect on
functioning, the researchers found.
In some of the studies, the injections reached peak effectiveness at
eight weeks, then declined.
Looking at safety, the researchers detected a 40 percent increased risk
for serious side effects, such as gastrointestinal problems, with the
injections. Flare-ups — typically a hot, swollen knee 24 to 72 hours
after injection — were noted, but not in statistically significant
numbers. Less strong evidence suggested associations — but not
cause-and-effect relationships — with cardiovascular events and
cancer.
Despite these findings, a surgeon not involved in the study said he
still sees a possible role for the injections in certain patients.
“Viscosupplementation therapy for the knee appears to have some
transient improvement in a relatively small number of patients for
variable periods of time — most often less than six to 12 months,” said
Dr. William Robb, III, chairman of orthopedic surgery at North Shore
University Health System in Evanston, Ill. “In some patients —
particularly patients who have received previous viscosupplements — acute
adverse reactions have been seen and may persist for several weeks,
occasionally months.”
However, “in none of these cases did the adverse reaction require
surgical treatment,” he added.
Robb said he looks at the pros and cons from a patient’s perspective.
Many turn to the injections to avoid surgery or medications, which can
have their own harmful side effects, he said.
“Some patients, however — particularly patients with earlier stage
arthritis — benefitted from viscosupplementation for periods of time
sufficient to continue the use of this therapy,” he said.
Further research would help determine which patients benefit so doctors
could tailor the therapy effectively, he said.
The authors pointed out several study limitations, saying the
methodology of some of the studies was flawed and the overall quality
generally low. Also, many provided no information on safety.
More information
To learn more about viscosupplementation, visit the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
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