Explaining Medicine
  • News
  • Health & Lifestyle
    • Diet & Weight Management
    • Exercise & Fitness
    • Nutrition, Food & Recipes
    • Prevention & Wellness
  • Conditions
    • Custom1
      • Conditions A-Z
      • Procedures A-Z
      • Allergies
      • Alzheimer’s
      • Arthritis
      • Asthma
      • Blood Pressure
      • Cholesterol
      • Cancer
    • Custom2
      • Chronic Pain
      • Cold Flu
      • Depression
      • Diabetes
      • Digestion
      • Eyesight
      • Health Living
      • Healthy Kids
      • Hearing Ear
    • Custom3
      • Heart
      • HIV/AIDS
      • Infectious Disease
      • Lung Conditions
      • Menopause
      • Men’s Health
      • Mental Health
      • Migraine
      • Neurology
    • Custom4
      • Oral Health
      • Pregnancy
      • Senior Health
      • Sexual Health
      • Skin Problems
      • Sleep
      • Thyroid
      • Travel Health
      • Women’s Health
  • Medications
    • Medications
    • Supplements and Vitamins
  • Medical Dictionary
  • Health Alerts
After cancer diagnosis, a neurosurgeon sees life, death...
Wegovy works. But here’s what happens if you...
A baby spent 36 days at an in-network...
Multiple Myeloma: How Do Disparities Affect Outcomes?
Can you bond without the ‘love hormone’? These...
FDA moves to ease restrictions on blood donations...
When gun violence ends young lives, these men...
When is it OK to make germs worse...
An FDA committee votes to roll out a...
Your kids are adorable germ vectors. Here’s how...
Top Posts

Explaining Medicine

  • News
  • Health & Lifestyle
    • Diet & Weight Management
    • Exercise & Fitness
    • Nutrition, Food & Recipes
    • Prevention & Wellness
  • Conditions
    • Custom1
      • Conditions A-Z
      • Procedures A-Z
      • Allergies
      • Alzheimer’s
      • Arthritis
      • Asthma
      • Blood Pressure
      • Cholesterol
      • Cancer
    • Custom2
      • Chronic Pain
      • Cold Flu
      • Depression
      • Diabetes
      • Digestion
      • Eyesight
      • Health Living
      • Healthy Kids
      • Hearing Ear
    • Custom3
      • Heart
      • HIV/AIDS
      • Infectious Disease
      • Lung Conditions
      • Menopause
      • Men’s Health
      • Mental Health
      • Migraine
      • Neurology
    • Custom4
      • Oral Health
      • Pregnancy
      • Senior Health
      • Sexual Health
      • Skin Problems
      • Sleep
      • Thyroid
      • Travel Health
      • Women’s Health
  • Medications
    • Medications
    • Supplements and Vitamins
  • Medical Dictionary
  • Health Alerts
  • News

    A Surgery-Free Fix for Bad Knees?

    by WebMD March 20, 2018

    HealthDay Reporter

    TUESDAY, March 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Tiny pellets could treat arthritic knee pain, delaying the need for knee replacement surgery, a small study has found.

    Microparticles inserted into small blood vessels around the knee helped reduce the pain and improve function in eight arthritis sufferers, according to clinical trial results. The results were presented Monday at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s annual meeting, in Los Angeles.

    “Patients overall were able to improve their physical function in the knee after the procedure, and there were no adverse events related to this treatment,” said lead researcher Dr. Sandeep Bagla.

    Bagla is director of interventional radiology at the Vascular Institute of Virginia in Woodbridge. Boston Scientific, maker of the microparticles, funded the study.

    Much of the pain that comes from knee arthritis actually stems from inflammation in the lining of the knee joint, also called the synovium, Bagla said. In fact, small blood vessels created by degenerative arthritis feed this inflammation by increasing blood flow to the lining.

    To treat this, Bagla and his colleagues decided to try blocking those tiny blood vessels using microparticles — spheres about a tenth of a millimeter in size made from a synthetic gel-like material.

    The microparticles are inserted using a catheter run through a pinhole-sized incision, in a procedure that lasts between 45 and 90 minutes, Bagla said.

    “It’s an outpatient procedure, and no physical therapy is required before or after this procedure,” he said.

    The small pilot study — the first U.S. clinical trial of this procedure — involved 20 patients with moderate to severe arthritis pain. Only 13 had undergone the procedure by the time of Monday’s annual meeting, and only eight had made it to the one-month follow-up, Bagla said.

    Those eight patients averaged a 58-point decrease in pain, as measured on a 100-point visual scale used to estimate pain, Bagla said. They started with an average baseline of 72, which means their pain was brought down to manageable levels, he said.

    Physical function of their knee also improved, based on an index used to judge the effects of osteoarthritis, Bagla added.

    Continued

    Overall, the two scales represented an 80 percent improvement in function, the researchers concluded.

    Bagla said no side effects are expected because the procedure only blocks additional blood flow to the knee, rather than cutting it off altogether.

    “You don’t normally have this degree of increased blood supply to this lining. We’re not blocking normal blood vessels to the knee or leg or bone or cartilage,” he said.

    Final results from this clinical trial are expected to be released this summer. Researchers are already kicking off a second, larger trial to better understand how the procedure works and which patients it might benefit, Bagla said.

    They think it will be most appropriate for people between ages 40 and 70 who aren’t ready to go through knee replacement, or people who are on chronic pain medication for their knee arthritis, Bagla said.

    “Perhaps we can demonstrate and prove patients do not need to be on these medications and can alternatively go through a minimally invasive procedure like this to reduce their knee pain,” Bagla said.

    Dr. Suresh Vedantham, president of the Society of Interventional Radiology, called the new procedure “very promising,” given that it focuses on the inflamed knee lining that causes the pain.

    “This therapy is very well-targeted to that particular mechanism, and certainly it should be investigated further,” said Vedantham, who wasn’t involved with the study. He’s a professor of radiology and surgery at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University in St. Louis.

    Research presented at medical meetings is typically considered preliminary until it is published in a peer-reviewed journal.

    WebMD News from HealthDay

    Sources

    SOURCES: Sandeep Bagla, M.D., director, interventional radiology, Vascular Institute of Virginia,  Woodbridge; Suresh Vedantham, M.D., professor, radiology and surgery, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University of St. Louis; Society of Interventional Radiology annual meeting, March 19, 2018, Los Angeles

    Copyright © 2013-2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

    Read the article here

    Share this Post

    Share Explaining Medicine Share Explaining Medicine

    A Surgery-Free Fix for Bad Knees? was last modified: March 23rd, 2018 by WebMD

    Related

    arthritisbloodclinical trialkneeknee painknee replacement surgerypain
    0 comment
    0
    Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
    WebMD

    previous post
    Shingles Is Nasty, And The New Vaccine Works Well. Why Do Adults Avoid Shots?
    next post
    The High Costs of Alzheimer’s

    Related Articles

    Dementia May Be More Common in Rural Areas

    December 18, 2017

    Cinnamon-Flavored E-Cigs May Bring Lung Dangers

    May 23, 2018

    Study: Tdap Vaccine Doesn’t Boost Autism Risk

    August 13, 2018

    Digital health and artificial intelligence provide solutions to the global crisis in surgical care

    May 1, 2019

    Florence’s Lingering Threat: Mold

    September 20, 2018

    Change the experience: a Muslim medical student’s story

    February 6, 2018

    States Question Costs Of Middlemen That Manage Medicaid Drug Benefits

    August 8, 2018

    Cutting Co-Pays Helps Heart Patients Take Meds

    March 14, 2018

    ‘Mindfulness’ Approach Could Help You Stay Slim

    October 5, 2016

    VA Resignations After Maggots Found in Man’s Wound

    December 5, 2016

    Recent Posts

    • After cancer diagnosis, a neurosurgeon sees life, death and his career in a new way

      January 30, 2023
    • Wegovy works. But here’s what happens if you can’t afford to keep taking the drug

      January 30, 2023
    • A baby spent 36 days at an in-network hospital. Why did her parents get a huge bill?

      January 30, 2023
    • Multiple Myeloma: How Do Disparities Affect Outcomes?

      January 27, 2023
    • Can you bond without the ‘love hormone’? These cuddly rodents show it’s possible

      January 27, 2023

    Keep in touch

    Facebook Twitter Google + RSS

    Recent Posts

    • After cancer diagnosis, a neurosurgeon sees life, death and his career in a new way

      January 30, 2023
    • Wegovy works. But here’s what happens if you can’t afford to keep taking the drug

      January 30, 2023
    • A baby spent 36 days at an in-network hospital. Why did her parents get a huge bill?

      January 30, 2023
    • Multiple Myeloma: How Do Disparities Affect Outcomes?

      January 27, 2023
    • Can you bond without the ‘love hormone’? These cuddly rodents show it’s possible

      January 27, 2023
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Policy

    @2023 - Explaining Medicine. All Right Reserved.


    Back To Top
    Explaining Medicine
    Proudly powered by WordPress Theme: soledad child.