A new study was presented at the 4^th Annual Congress of the German Spine Society in Munich - it demonstrated the long-term effect of Curavisc^® in the treatment of chronic facet syndrome  Kleinostheim, Germany, 14^th December 2009 - It has now been proven that the use of curasan AG's hyaluronic acid preparation Curavisc^® is safe and sustainably effective also for the treatment of chronic facet syndrome. Facet syndrome is a chronic pain syndrome caused by an irritation of the joint capsules, mainly in the lumbar spine. It manifests itself as persistent pain that is often difficult to treat. Reasons for the irritation include chronic strain, osteoarthritis or intervertebral disc degeneration.  At the 4^th Annual Congress of the German Spine Society, held in Munich from 10^th until 12^th December, Dr. Hermann Keller presented the open, monocentric study that was carried out at the Spinal and Intervertebral Disc Centre at the Grünewald Clinic in Aschaffenburg, Germany.  A total of 60 patients aged between 40 and 89 had their most badly affected spinal segment, as well as the facet joints located directly above and below, denervated using a highly concentrated glucose solution and were then treated three times at weekly intervals with the hyaluronic acid preparation Curavisc^® mini. All the patients were systematically treated in advance with anti-inflammatory drugs, 35 of them received accompanying physiotherapy and none of them got an NSAID. The clinical evaluation in each case was carried out after the final injection using a 6-point scoring system. 24 patients (41%) reported being free of symptoms and 27 (46%) reported a significant improvement.  The individual pain status was assessed on the basis of visual analogue scales (VAS). The symptoms of pain and discomfort decreased continuously for all criteria as the three-week course of treatment progressed; pain at rest by 77%, pain on initial movement by 79% and pain during movement by 78%. Dr. Hermann Keller was impressed by the positive clinical results: "Already during the period of treatment, it was possible to achieve success for most of the patients. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that improvements for many patients did not just retain after the treatment had ceased, but continued to increase throughout the follow-up phase." The HA product Curavisc^® mini for intra-articular treatment is easy to use and was tolerated extremely well. None of the 60 patients had complaints during or after the treatment that could be traced back to the injections.  Conclusion of the study: the injection-based treatment with the hyaluronic acid preparation Curavisc^® mini appears to be an alternative treatment for chronic facet syndrome, well accepted by the patients. 

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Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2009 12:43