Intraarticular injections of hyaluronan (HA) protect against the early stages of joint damage in a canine model of osteoarthritis

Effect of intraarticular hyaluronan injection in experimental canine osteoarthritis.

Article specifications

This clinical trial was published in 1998 in Journal of Arthritis Rheum. (IF2016: 6.918) by American orthopedics. The aim of this study was to determine if intraarticular injections of hyaluronan (HA) protect against the early stages of joint damage in a canine model of osteoarthritis (OA). One group of dogs (n=7) was treated with 5 weekly injections of HA (MW 1,500,000) into the operated knee beginning 1 day after ligament transection. The control group (n=6) was injected with saline on the same schedule.

 

Results

In this canine model of OA, the series of intraarticular injections of HA did not alter development of osteophytosis or fibrillation. However, the PG concentration of cartilage in the OA knee was significantly reduced by this treatment, suggesting that HA therapy might adversely affect the biomechanical properties of the cartilage.