New drug reduces knee arthritis symptoms: Study

London: Researchers have shown that a novel drug reduces several symptoms related to knee arthritis, but is not effective in easing joint pain, an advance that may lead to new treatments for the bone disease. According to the researchers, including those from the University of Leeds in the UK, osteoarthritis of the knee is a painful, disabling condition affecting hundreds of millions worldwide.

People suffering from the condition experience pain arising from body parts like the cartilage sheath covering ends of knee joints, bone just below this layer, and other structures in this junction, causing joint failure and pain-related limitations, they said.

The study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, assessed 244 patients with primary knee osteoarthritis, who were randomly assigned one of two treatments -- either 100 or 200 milligrammes daily of the novel drug MIV-711, or a placebo for 26 weeks.

From the study, the researchers evaluated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of MIV-711, with a primary endpoint to estimate the change in pain score.

The scientists also observed changes in disease progression among the participants using quantitative outcomes of MRI scans.

They found that compared with placebo, MIV-711 was associated with less bone remodelling, less cartilage volume loss, lower levels of bone resorption, and reduced loss of the bone protein collagen.

However, the findings showed no beneficial effects on knee pain.

According to the scientists, more research is needed to confirm the benefits of MIV-711 treatment among osteoarthritis patients.

While the study does not contradict the link known from earlier research between bone structure modification and improvement in osteoarthritis pain, it clarifies that structural changes do not lead to immediate symptom changes.