Blood cure for arthritis injects new hope into sufferers
THE cure for Australia’s 3.9 million arthritis sufferers may be right under their noses or, more accurately, flowing through their veins. The treatment, already used to help soft tissue injuries, is being trialled to help ease sufferers’ pain.
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THE cure for Australia’s 3.9 million arthritis sufferers may be right under their noses or, more accurately, in their veins.
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections are about to be trialled as a treatment for arthritis in an Australia-first study for the painful condition.
A growing body of evidence suggests the platelet-rich plasma component of blood, containing growth factors and anti-inflammatory agents, can reboot the body’s healing mechanism when taken from the patient, separated by centrifuge and injected into arthritic joints.
It comes after a recent study by Australian sports physician Dr Jane Fitzpatrick, published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine earlier this year, showed that PRP was more effective than corticosteroid injections for sufferers of gluteal tendinopathy, which causes hip pain.
“This is a groundbreaking area in medicine working with biological stimulus for healing, particularly in soft tissue,” Dr Fitzpatrick said.
Eastwood mum Christine Phillips had surgery on her left leg to repair a torn hamstring.
When she tore her right hamstring, she opted for PRP injections instead.
“I was very pleased because the alternative was surgery. It was the right decision as I haven’t had a stitch of trouble since,” the 44-year-old said.
Prof Kim Bennell, Director of the Centre for Health, Exercise and Sports Medicine at the University of Melbourne, along with Sydney Rheumatologist Dr David Hunter from Royal North Shore Hospital, are recruiting 288 arthritis sufferers to trial PRP in a National Health and Medical Research Council-funded study.
“We are doing it to get some evidence to see if it reduces (arthritic) pain symptoms and to see if it has an effect on structure. Animal studies suggest it could, but studies in humans so far have been problematic. It would be fantastic if shown to be effective,” Prof Bennell said.
Sports physician Dr Donald Kuah from Sydney Sports Medicine Centre said he was already successfully treating patients with both tendon injuries and osteoarthritis with PRP injections.
“Platelets carry a lot of the body’s growth factors and they get released over a few weeks once injected,” Dr Kuah said.
“That promotes a cascade of growth, which works with tendons and soft tissue injuries.
“But the plasma also contains anti-inflammatory factors. Is it the growth factors or the anti-inflammatory effects? We don’t know, the jury is still out.”
PRP injections were removed from the Medicare Benefits Schedule in 2015 after its cosmetic popularity soared off the back of Kim Kardashian’s “vampire facial” YouTube video, where she showcased PRP’s cosmetic use when injected into the face.
After the Kardashian YouTube clip in 2013, there was a 450 per cent growth in claims for the procedure, costing taxpayers more than $3.6 million.
* To volunteer for the study you must suffer arthritis and be over 50. Go to restorestudy.com.au