Osteoarthritis News and Research

Latest Osteoarthritis News and Research

Dramatic rise in total knee arthroplasty, associated infection rates over past 20 years

Study findings document a steep rise in total knee arthroplasty procedures over the past 20 years, being driven by both an increase in the number of patients enrolled in Medicare and greater per capita utilization.

1 Oct 2012

Exelixis announces interim data from cabozantinib phase 2 trial on metastatic CRPC

Exelixis, Inc. today announced interim data from 51 patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and bone metastases receiving a 40 mg daily dose of cabozantinib in an ongoing non-randomized expansion (NRE) cohort of a phase 2 randomized discontinuation trial.

1 Oct 2012

New studies reveal real economic and human costs of caring for cancer patients in Europe

New studies that reveal for the first time the real economic and human costs of caring for cancer patients in Europe will be presented during the ESMO 2012 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna.

29 Sep 2012

Study finds increase in number of total knee replacements among U.S. Medicare population

Total knee replacement is a very common and safe surgery that's used to relieve severe pain and disability caused by knee osteoarthritis, and to improve patients' quality of life. However, it's also very expensive at approximately $15,000 per procedure. With an estimated 600,000 total knee replacements performed annually in the United States, the aggregate annual cost for total knee replacement (also known as total knee arthroplasty or TKA) is $9 billion.

27 Sep 2012

Adult stem cells can prevent Alzheimer's disease

In the first study of its kind, researchers at Korea's leading university and the RNL Bio Stem Cell Technology Institute announced this week the results of a study that suggests an astounding possibility: adult stem cells may not only have a positive effect on those suffering from Alzheimer's disease, they can prevent the disease.

27 Sep 2012

Topical NSAIDs as effective as oral NSAIDs for knee, hand arthritis

For those suffering from osteoarthritis of the knees or hands, applying topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) — in the form of creams, gels and patches — can bring weeks of pain relief, finds a new review by The Cochrane Library.

21 Sep 2012

Positive data from Nektar’s NKTR-192 Phase 1a study on acute pain

Nektar Therapeutics announced today that positive data from the first single-ascending dose Phase 1a clinical study of NKTR-192, the company's novel short-acting mu-opioid analgesic candidate, demonstrate that the drug candidate achieved its target pharmacokinetic profile.

19 Sep 2012

Mitochondrial variations unlikely cause of osteoarthritis

Researchers have been unable to confirm a link between the development of osteoarthritis and maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA variants.

17 Sep 2012

Acupuncture therapy remains a prickly matter

Acupuncture may actually be effective for treating some types of chronic pain, a systematic review in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows.

12 Sep 2012

Ethypharm, Ampio enter definitive agreement to manufacture Zertane

Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMPE), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, with repurposed drugs and new molecular entities (NMEs) that treat inflammatory diseases, including osteoarthritis, diabetic macular edema (DME) and sexual dysfunction announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Ethypharm Ltd for the manufacturing of Zertane, Ampio's drug for the treatment of premature ejaculation.

12 Sep 2012

Rhode Island receives NIH grant to study cartilage and joint health

Rhode Island Hospital's Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) in Skeletal Health and Repair has been awarded a $10.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one of the largest grants in Rhode Island Hospital history. This grant, to be paid over five years, will fund studies of cartilage and joint health.

11 Sep 2012

More patients gain weight after joint replacement surgery

Hip and knee replacements are now a common surgical procedure with more than 700,000 total joint arthroplasties (TJAs) performed in the US every year. Due to the reduction in pain and increases in mobility experienced after having a TJA, it could be expected that weight loss may occur as a by-product of the surgery.

10 Sep 2012

Hebrew University researcher develops anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic family of drugs

A synthetic, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic family of drugs to combat a variety of illnesses while avoiding detrimental side effects has been developed by a Hebrew University of Jerusalem researcher.

7 Sep 2012

Obesity no barrier to knee replacement surgery

Health policy should not withhold total knee arthroplasty from patients on the basis of obesity, say UK researchers.

3 Sep 2012

MRI detects high prevalence of abnormalities associated with knee osteoarthritis

A study conducted by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) shows that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detected a high prevalence of abnormalities associated with knee osteoarthritis in middle-aged and elderly patients that had no evidence of knee osteoarthritis in X-ray images.

1 Sep 2012

Community-based pharmacists could provide added resource in identifying knee OA

Canadian researchers have determined that community-based pharmacists could provide an added resource in identifying knee osteoarthritis (OA). The study, published in Arthritis Care & Research, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), represents the first evidence supporting a collaborative approach to managing knee OA.

28 Aug 2012

GM-CSF depletion suppresses pain in people with arthritis-related conditions

The research relates to a family of molecules firstly discovered in Melbourne that applied to blood cell development. One of these, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor or GM-CSF, acts as a messenger between cells acting at a site of inflammation.

22 Aug 2012