Thirty million or so Americans who have osteoarthritis, joint pain, and stiffness can use various treatments that can offer some relief but as Veterans Administration’s researcher Martha Finco reports, “Currently, there are no FDA-approved treatments that build new or repair damaged cartilage.”
Finco’s research team at the Veterans Administration (VA) www.va.gov is testing a potential new therapy that promises to regenerate cartilage. The hope is that this therapy could eventually be a viable alternative to drugs or surgery.
The VA Office of Research and Development www.research.va.gov is doing a pilot trial to test a potential new therapy that promises to regenerate cartilage in the knee. The therapy is called “Pulsed low-Intensity Ultrasound” (PLIUS).
The pilot trial titled “Assess Low-Intensity Ultrasound in Osteoarthritis” (NCT02034409) is currently recruiting an estimated 180 participants. The trial is studying whether PLIUS is potentially effective as a symptom modifying intervention in patients with early knee osteoarthritis.
The device being used in the new VA sponsored clinical trial is called Exogen www.exogen.com is already approved by FDA to promote bone healing after fractures. Exogen is considered an investigational device for the VA study although the device’s use in cartilage regeneration is unknown.
The Exogen kit comes with a neoprene strap that is worn around the knee. Fitted within the strap is a circular transducer which emits the ultrasound waves. “The device looks like a wristwatch” says VA and University of Utah Rheumatologist Dr. Daniel Clegg, lead investigator on the pilot study. He said, “The findings from the study should be especially relevant for veterans, a population where osteoarthritis is rampant partly because of the veteran’s military experience.”
Next, researchers will take before and after pain measures for both groups enrolled in the trial and use MRI scans to check for new cartilage. Finco notes that even if the results from the clinical trial are positive, further research would be needed before the treatment can be approved by the FDA and become widely available.
Go to https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT2034409?term=Plius&rank=1 for information on the VA’s Office of Research and Development Clinical Trial (NCT02034409).