2 biotechs look to market knee pain treatments

Flexion Therapeutics has applied for approval of a long-lasting injection to treat osteoarthritis in the knee, while Centrexion Therapeutics is accelerating its own…
bostonglobe.com
Zilretta is an anti-inflammatory steroid contained in microspheres, injected into joints for slow-release and continued efficacy over at least 3 months. This should be very useful for OA patients with a predominant synovitis phenotype.
An injectable trans-capsaicin lasting up to 6 months would be a boon for OA pain relief. Capsaicin “numbs” the pain-transmitting nerve fibres.


The current online edition of JAMA examines the evidence from 27 clinical trials and 1767 patients to assess the impact of intra-articular corticosteroids in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA).Overall, the evidence shows that intra-articular corticosteroids is associated with moderate improvemen…
rheumnow.com
1 in 8 response lasting a mere 2 weeks certainly does not sound like an effective treatment for knee OA, but personal experience suggests otherwise.
Perhaps selecting patients with clinically overt synovitis would improve the response rate. For such patients, then, a longer-acting or slow-release steroid would prolong the duration of response.


Treatment for a year with the human anti–nerve growth factor monoclonal antibody fulranumab provided…
mdedge.com

Symptomatic pain relief may buy a better quality of life, but the degeneration and inflammation continues, possibly at an accelerated pace in a subset of patients (20%).


Low Levels of Vitamin D3 May Increase OA Pain

In a study of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA), researchers found that the cytokine IL-17A may play a role in the pain associated with the disease.…
the-rheumatologist.org|By Lara C. Pullen, PhD

The evidence that Vitamin D replacement will improve knee OA symptoms and function remains elusive.


Consumption of dietary fiber at the recommended average intake of 25 g per day was associated with lower risks of developing symptomatic knee…
mdedge.com

Clutching at straws (or fibre), if you ask me. When you’re desperate, you’ll try anything.