Clinical Trials For Treating Knee Osteoarthritis Are Underway

Researchers are optimistic that clinical trials currently underway could lead to an alternative form of therapy for osteoarthritis knee pain sufferers

Monday, February 25, 2019 - Gene therapy is a complex yet straightforward procedure that could eliminate or delay the need for knee replacement surgery for millions of patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee (s). A team of doctors at the Mayo Clinic where the human clinical trials are taking place "plan to use a viral vector to introduce an anti-arthritic gene into the knee joints of patients with osteoarthritis (OA), " with a goal of "evaluating the safety of gene therapy for knee OA, as well as the treatment's possible effects on joint structure and clinical efficacy." Phase one of the study will be to inject nine human patients suffering from moderate OA in increasing dosages regularly for one year. The scientists are hoping the treatment will result in a decrease of synovial fluid inhibiting pain-free range of motion of the knee, and a positive regeneration of the knee joint structure. Patients will also be monitored for the degree of pain they are experiencing using an accepted method of registering pain scores. Knee replacement lawyers representing people and families harmed by a knee replacement device.

Dr. Christopher H. Evans, Ph.D. is the director of the Mayo Clinic's Rehabilitation Medicine Research Center and has been published by the Mayo Clinic regarding the use of gene therapy to rejuvenate knee cartilage and eliminate pain in patients suffering from degenerative osteoarthritis. The center estimates that around 27 million Americans have uncurable and untreatable knee osteoarthritis. Dr. Evans leads a team at the Musculoskeletal Regeneration Program at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, where "physicians and scientists are focused on the repair of diseased or injured tendons, ligaments, cartilage, muscle, and bone using advanced stem cell and tissue engineering platforms."

There is no denying that should the clinical trials prove successful in rejuvenating diseased or injured knees back to their healthy and pain-free state, the procedure will revolutionize orthopedic medicine. Knee replacement devices will no longer be needed by all but the most extreme cases where patients are suffering from accidents or injuries. Gene therapy promises to dramatically improve the lives of the millions of senior citizens that experience crippling arthritic joint pain.

Along with the scientists at the Mayo Clinic, researchers at Baylor University are optimistic gene therapy can eliminate the need for total knee replacement surgery. "If this treatment decreases pain and inflammation and preserves the joint, there is the potential to both improve symptoms and delay or reduce the need for joint replacement surgery." The reason for such optimism lies in the results of experiments applying gene therapy to mice. Scientists have seen "significant improvement in pain parameters and cartilage preservation in the face of osteoarthritis stimulated by injury." Positive results were achieved when gene therapy was applied to animals with larger knee joints simulating humans and such test have paved the way for the human clinical trials that are underway.

Clinical Trials For Treating Knee Osteoarthritis Are Underway

Researchers are optimistic that clinical trials currently underway could lead to an alternative form of therapy for osteoarthritis knee pain sufferers

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