Low-dose radiation therapy shows promise for knee osteoarthritis pain

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Researchers are testing low-dose radiation to deal with the painful symptoms of osteoarthritis within the knee.

The examine, revealed by researchers in Korea and introduced on the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual assembly in September, suggests {that a} single course of radiation is usually a “secure and efficient” therapy possibility.

Knee osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint illness inflicting ache, swelling and stiffness within the knees that worsens over time.

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The randomized scientific trial enrolled 114 sufferers with moderate-to-mild knee osteoarthritis who have been every assigned a really low dose of radiation, a low dose or a placebo. The one different ache aid used throughout the examine was acetaminophen.

man holding his knee in pain

Knee osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint illness inflicting ache, swelling and stiffness within the knees that worsens over time. (iStock)

The individuals went by means of six classes, as researchers assessed “significant enchancment” in not less than two of the next markers — ache, bodily perform and total assessment of condition.

The sufferers additionally accomplished a questionnaire to report ache, stiffness and performance. None of them recorded any treatment-related negative effects.

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After 4 months of therapy, 70% of the low-dose individuals met the standards, compared to 42% within the placebo. These within the very low-dose group noticed a 58.3% enchancment.

These findings counsel the low-dose routine “drove aid past placebo results,” consultants famous in a press launch.

doctor examines a male patient's knee

A researcher recommended that radiation remedy may delay the necessity for joint substitute. (iStock)

Within the low-dose group, 56.8% recorded significant enhancements in ache, stiffness and bodily perform scores, in comparison with 30.6% in placebo.

The examine concluded that low-dose radiation led to important reductions in ache and improved perform after 4 months — a “small fraction” of what’s usually used to treat cancer.

“For folks with delicate to reasonable illness, this strategy may delay the necessity for joint substitute.”

Byoung Hyuck Kim, M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator on the trial and an assistant professor of radiation oncology at Seoul Nationwide College School of Drugs, Boramae Medical Middle, famous that individuals with painful knee osteoarthritis “usually face a troublesome selection” between the chance of negative effects from ache drugs and the dangers of joint replacement surgery.

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“There’s a scientific want for reasonable interventions between weak ache drugs and aggressive surgical procedure, and we predict radiation could also be an appropriate possibility for these sufferers, particularly when medication and injections are poorly tolerated,” he mentioned in an announcement.

woman touches her knee while sitting on a sofa

Different way of life components, resembling weight reduction, ought to be factored into the consideration of low-dose radiation as therapy, in accordance with the researchers. (iStock)

Radiation remedy could also be a greater match for sufferers with underlying irritation and preserved joint construction, Kim added.

“For extreme osteoarthritis, the place the joint is bodily destroyed and cartilage is already gone, radiation won’t regenerate tissue,” he mentioned. “However for folks with delicate to reasonable illness, this strategy may delay the necessity for joint substitute.”

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This therapy must also be thought-about alongside different way of life components, together with weight loss, physiotherapy and drugs, as responses could possibly be “even stronger when radiation is correctly mixed with different therapies,” Kim mentioned.

“And affected person satisfaction could also be increased than with present choices alone.”

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The examine did have some limitations, the researchers confirmed, together with the comparatively quick follow-up interval.

The researchers are planning for bigger trials to guage the outcomes in particular teams of individuals, evaluating low-dose radiation injections with remedy regimens.

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