Platelet-rich Plasma Injections may Not Treat Osteoarthritis

Platelet-rich plasma injections are no better than placebo for helping reduce knee pain in people with knee joint osteoarthritis.

Platelet-rich plasma may not be effective in reducing knee pain in people with knee joint osteoarthritis, as per the clinical trial results.

Platelet-rich plasma uses a concentration of a patient’s own platelets injected directly into the joint with the aim being to aid in long-term pain relief and to improve joint cartilage.

‘Patients with knee osteoarthritis should exercise and maintain a healthy weight range to help manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life.’
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The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, compared a series of three-weekly injections of platelet-rich plasma to three-weekly injections of saline, which acted as a placebo for the study.

Participants were not aware of whether there was platelet-rich plasma or saline in the syringe during the injections. Participants were tracked for pain levels and cartilage health over 12 months.

Participants who received platelet-rich plasma injections had a significant improvement in their knee pain over one year, the level of improvement was matched by those in the placebo group. There were no differences identified in the MRI scans in both groups.

Osteoarthritis - Causes, Symptoms, DIagnosis, Treatment, FAQs
Osteoarthritis is one of the commonest joint disorder and occurs as we age due to wear and tear of a joint. Osteoarthritis can affect any joint of the body.

“We conducted the study because there is currently limited high-quality evidence about whether or not platelet-rich plasma injections have benefits for people with painful knee osteoarthritis.

Our results do not support the use of platelet-rich plasma for people with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis,” University of Melbourne lead researcher Professor Kim Bennell said.

Professor Bennell advises people with knee osteoarthritis to exercise and maintain a healthy weight range to help manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life.

Contributing author Professor David Hunter, from the University of Sydney, said Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common and disabling disease.

“Pain in OA is a substantial unmet need, so identifying new therapies capable of improving the symptoms and structure are urgently needed.

Unfortunately, the particular treatment trialled in this study, PRP, whilst widely used and typically expensive, appears to be ineffective compared to an inert comparator.”

Two hundred and eighty-eight people with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis participated in the RESTORE study, conducted in Melbourne and Sydney, with funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Source-Medindia