Osteoarthritis, or degenerative arthritis, or degenerative joint disease, or osteoarthrosis, is a form of arthritis caused by inflammation, breakdown, and the eventual loss of cartilage in the joints – the cartilage wears down over time. This study shows both oral intake of Syalox 300 Plus^® (hyaluronic acid 300 mg + Boswellia serrata extract 100 mg) and direct injection of hyaluronic acid can help with knee pain due to osteoarthritis in 20 days.

The Research

Surg. 2016 Sep 28. [Epub ahead of print]

Clinical comparison of oral administration and viscosupplementation of hyaluronic acid (HA) in early knee osteoarthritis.

Ricci M¹, Micheloni GM², Berti M¹, Perusi F³, Sambugaro E¹, Vecchini E¹, Magnan B¹.

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Abstract

PURPOSE:

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive, chronic and degenerative joint disease characterized by a loss of articular cartilage. Treatment of OA is largely palliative based on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, opioids and injections of steroids. Regarding conservative treatment, intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid (HA) can play a role in early symptomatic knee OA.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Between August 2015 and September 2015, sixty patients (32 males and 28 females) between 40 and 70 years old were randomly allocated into two groups: Half were treated with three weekly intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid 1.6 % (group A), while the others were treated with Syalox 300 Plus^® (hyaluronic acid 300 mg + Boswellia serrata extract 100 mg) 1 tab/die for 20 days and afterward Syalox 150^® (hyaluronic acid 150 mg) 1 tab/die for other 20 days (group B). All patients were evaluated clinically with American Knee Society Score (AKSS) and visual analogue scale (VAS) for the pain before the treatment and after 3 months.

RESULTS:

AKSS of the patients in both groups was significantly increased by the treatment, and VAS score was significantly reduced. In both groups, two subgroups were created with patients older than 60 years and patients younger than 60 years. Better results are reported in younger patients of group A and older subjects in group B.

CONCLUSIONS:

Despite several limitations, the results of the study have shown that HA injection and oral administration may have beneficial therapeutic effects on patients with early osteoarthritis. Different outcomes in younger and older subject suggested a combined therapy first with local infiltrations and then with oral composition.

KEYWORDS:

Early knee osteoarthritis; Hyaluronic acid; Viscosupplementation