Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment in Symptomatic Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis:  Preliminary Results in a Group of Active Patients

Why you should pay attention to this:  This study was done to compare the effect of platelet-rich plasma injections on knees of fifty arthritis patients, either with or without prior arthroscopic surgery.  All but the most severe category of arthritis were included.  Patients were all active, with ages ranging from 32 to 60.  There were no differences between the two groups at baseline in terms of symptoms.  After two PRP injections, spaced one month apart, patients in both groups improved significantly.  There were no differences between groups at either 6 or 12 months in pain or disability scores.  This suggests that PRP is potentially useful as a treatment for arthritis patients who have failed arthroscopic surgery.  The main limitation of this study is the lack of a control group (patients with a sham treatment) to evaluate potential placebo effect against PRP.

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Want to read the article? Find out more at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25416198