Active clinical trials for "Osteoarthritis"

Study wishes to determine if the use of injectable bee venom is a safe and effective treatment for persons with mild to moderate knee Osteoarthritis and would result in decreased report of pain and discomfort, increased function during daily activities, decrease use of analgesic meds, and improvement in walking and climbing steps. We will be using histamine as a control. 40 subjects will be enrolled in a 3:1 allocation ratio between bee venom and histamine. Each injection of bee venom dosage will consist of 100 micrograms of dried bee venom in 0.1 ml. of 0.5% preservative free Xylocaine. The histamine dosage will consist of .0025 milligrams of histamine in 0.5% preservative free Xylocaine. Subjects will visit the study center for 14 visits over an 18 week span. The clinical hypothesis is that bee venom is an effective treatment for Osteoarthritis and will reduce pain and discomfort, increase range of motion, increase daily function, decrease walking and stair climbing time, and decrease the need of analgesic medication for a period of time beyond treatment (after the study has concluded.) The clinical safety hypothesis is that for persons not allergic to bee venom (patients allergic will not be allowed to enter into the study) the side effects will be small. The most common side effects for bee venom and histamine will be redness and itchiness which will be tolerable and safe.

The purpose of this study is to determine if MIS for primary hip replacement surgery increases the risk of long term aseptic loosening as predicted by implant micromotion detected by radiostereometric analysis.

Joint replacement is a well-documented and cost effective treatment of degenerative diseases in the hip (1,2). There are two different principles of fixation of prosthesis components; cemented and uncemented. The most common mode of fixation in Scandinavia has historically been with bone cement. In the recent years a reverse hybrid combination (uncemented stem and cemented cup) is gaining popularity, especially in Norway. Beside luxation, infection and venous thromboembolism, the problem with aseptic loosening is a known complication. A marker for aseptic loosening is local bone loss around the components. This is measured with a densiometer and the method is Dual Energy X-ray Absorbtiometry (DXA). Periprosthetic bone loss is evaluated by series of DXA scans around the components over time. This enables us to follow changes in bone mineral density (BMD) close to the prosthesis. We want to compare cemented and uncemented prostheses with this technique. This is a problem since we don't know how much different contrast medias in bone cement affect DXA scans. This area is poorly investigated. Attempts have been made to exclude the cement-mantle from the measurements both digitally and manually, but these have showed poor precision. A kind of consensus of assuming that contrast medias in bone cement give an increase in measured BMD of 20% (4). This is used when comparing cemented and uncemented components. We have preformed laboratory tests of different cements. Zirconium oxide (ZrO2) and Barium sulphate (BaSO4) are used as radiopacifiers. These contrast medias have different properties. Our test showed that Zirconium give 63% higher BMD when we scanned cement alone. This is supported by a cadaver study showing significant differences between contrast free cement and ZrO2 /BaSO4 containing cements. It is our opinion that it is necessary to perform a prospective study to investigate this more thoroughly. The hypothesis of this study is that it is not accurate enough to add 20% in BMD for cemented implants when comparing them with uncemented implants. It is probably necessary to take into account the amount of cement used and kind of contrast medium.

The aim of this study is to determine, in the framework of a randomized controlled clinical trial, whether Tai Chi can affect measurable improvements in self-reported outcomes such as pain, physical function and psychological well-being in people with osteoarthritis (OA) mainly affecting the hips or knees. The effectiveness of Tai Chi will be compared with both a non-intervention control group as well as with a formal exercise program, hydrotherapy. Hydrotherapy has long been considered an effective intervention for people with chronic OA although scientific evidence is weak at present. The main study hypotheses are that Tai Chi or hydrotherapy can significantly decrease pain and physical limitations; improve health-related quality of life; and promote psychological well being in patients with OA of the hip(s) or knee(s); and that Tai Chi and hydrotherapy are of equal efficacy.

comparative trial of placebo versus flex-a-new (a food supplement) containing glucosamine an chondroitin sulfate for the symptom modification is knee osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most frequent causes of chronic pain, often intense, debilitating and responsible for a large percentage of the elderly. The disease affects about 10% of adults and the knees are the most affected joints. The diagnosis of OA in the knee is predominantly clinical, and can be confirmed by radiological examination. Systemic drugs are indicated before invasive procedures, but pharmacological therapies may offer limited benefits. Thermal radiofrequency lesions of genicular nerves has been used to relieve chronic knee pain, as adjuvant therapy, but with high costs and low availability in the public system. The use of phenol for peripheral analgesic blocks has emerged as a good option and at low cost and can be used in any service of Pain Treatment. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of 6% phenol for ultrasound-guided genicular nerves neurolysis for the treatment of patients with chronic knee pain due to osteoarthritis. METHODS: A prospective study will be carried out with 15 patients with chronic pain (more than 4 months) and diagnosis of arthrosis by imaging, with pain intensity greater than 4 (from zero to 10) that will be submitted to ultrasound-guided genicular nerves block. The test block will be performed with 0.25% -1,5 mL bupivacaine on each nerve. Patients who present pain improvement> 50% will undergo neurolysis of genicular nerves with 1,5 mL of 7% phenol in each of the genicular nerves. After the procedure, the patients will be evaluated for 3 months in relation to the intensity of pain at rest and movement and duration of analgesia provided by the intervention, range of movements and functionality of the knee joint.

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common musculoskeletal disorder among older people. Since the prevalence of knee OA increases with age, it is anticipated that the prevalence and burden of knee OA will increase significantly given the aging population. Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is used to treat patients with severe knee OA. While TKA has been shown to improve knee pain, function and quality of life of patients with knee OA, up to 50% of patients with post-TKA may suffer from falls within in the first year after TKA. Given that Tai Chi can significantly improve the balance and function of older people, a fall prevention program may improve balance, pain, and function of post-TKA patients. As such, the current 3-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to compare the effectiveness of a post-operative community-based fall prevention program in improving knee pain, function and balance of patients with unilateral TKA against a group of TKA patients receiving standard post-operative care, and age- and gender-matched asymptomatic controls over 1 year.

To compare the effects of preoperative intravenous Dexamethasone between 10 mg and 40 mg with placebo on Postoperative Pain After Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knees is the most common degenerative disorder seen in a rehabilitation outpatient clinic. It is characterized by metabolic, biochemical, and structural changes in the articular cartilage and the surrounding tissues. Knee OA patients are often troubled with knee pain and functional disturbance. Several studies have shown that the earlier the injection of autologous platelet rich plasma (a PRP) to treat early stages of knee OA, the better the treatment outcome. However, no consensus has been reached as to whether PRP injection is beneficial for patients with moderate to severe degrees of knee OA. Studies have also shown that the application of neural prolotherapy (NPT) to the genicular nerves may have beneficial effects in treating patients with severe knee OA. However, patients may start to walk for a longer period of time due to reduced knee pain after NPT. If the regenerative effect of PRP is not yet obvious on the knee cartilage, this excess walking may result in further destruction of the knee joints. No studies have examined the combined treatment effect of a PRP and NPT on patients with moderate to severe degrees of knee OA. NPT is the injection of low percentage dextrose water (5%) with the rationale to repair and reduce pain caused by the nerves. We would like to bring our PRP study to a higher level by conducting a two-year study to recruit patients with moderate to severe degrees of knee OA. PRP will be injected into the knee joint and the pes anserine tendons. Simultaneous NPT will also be performed to the genicular nerves. The effectiveness will be examined using proteomics, isokinetic measurements and functional scale evaluations. Synovial fluid (SF) is in direct contact with the cartilage and synovium, protein biomarkers related to the disease pathophysiology of knee OA are contained within the SF and will be used for proteomic analysis. Patients will receive monthly injections for a total of 3 months. In short, if inflammatory proteins in the SF are not reduced after PRP injections, this indicates that PRP is not a good treatment choice for patients with moderate to severe degrees of knee OA. If inflammatory protein concentrations are further increased after NPT as patients may start strenuous exercises with reduced knee pain, more knee joint destruction may result.

Laser pulsed energy will be delivered over an optical fiber to create channels into damaged cartilage of the knee or knees. The channels have a diameter of approximately 100 microns or less and an approximate depth of 1 millimeter or less. Bone marrow aspirate will then be delivered into the damaged joint.