Intra-articular MM-II for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis pain: Efficacy and safety results from a 26-week, phase 2b, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized dose-ranging trial.

Objective: Determine optimal dose, efficacy, and safety of MM-II, a suspension of large empty liposomes, for knee osteoarthritis (OA) pain.

Method: A double-blind phase 2b study (NCT04506463) randomized participants 3:3:3:1:3:1 to one intra-articular injection of 1, 3, or 6 mL MM-II or 1, 3, or 6 mL placebo, respectively. Inclusion criteria included age ≥40 years and radiographic and symptomatic knee OA.

EUROVISCO Good Medical Practice Recommendations for the Use of Viscosupplementation with Hyaluronic Acid in the Management of Knee Osteoarthritis.

Objective: Viscosupplementation (VS) by intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid (HA) is a commonly used treatment of knee osteoarthritis. However, there are no clear recommendations for its use in clinical situations not usually addressed in therapeutic guidelines.

Design: Members of the European Viscosupplementation Consensus Group (EUROVISCO), made up of rheumatologists, orthopedic surgeons, and rehabilitation physicians from seven European countries, were asked to make a therapeutic decision on 30 clinical scenarios based on their clinical experience and data from the literature, using the Delphi method.

Protocol for a multicentre randomised triple-blind controlled trial assessing the clinical efficacy of intra-articular platelet-rich plasma injections versus placebo in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (PIKOA).

Introduction: Despite their exponential use, intra-articular (IA) injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) are not part of the recommended treatments for knee osteoarthritis (OA) by most international scientific societies. The most recent clinical trials have shown conflicting results, and some did not find any clinical benefit of PRP injections. The PRP In Knee OsteoArthritis (PIKOA) trial was designed to assess the clinical efficacy and structural benefit of IA injections of PRP vs saline solution (placebo) in symptomatic knee OA.

EUROVISCO Consensus Guidelines for the Use of Hyaluronic Acid Viscosupplementation in Knee Osteoarthritis Based on Patient Characteristics.

Objectives: Viscosupplementation with hyaluronic acid (HA) is a commonly used intra-articular treatment for osteoarthritis (OA). We performed a Delphi consensus process to formulate guidelines for the use of intra-articular hyaluronic acid (IAHA) knee injection according to the patient's characteristics.

Methods: The EUROVISCO group consists of 12 members who had expertise in clinical and/or research in the field of OA and IAHA treatment.

Predictors of Clinical Benefit with Intra-articular Hyaluronic Acid in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis - A Narrative Review.

Background: There is conflicting evidence regarding the efficacy of viscosupplementation with intra-articular hyaluronic acid injections in knee osteoarthritis. One possible explanation for the inconsistent findings on its efficacy is that only certain subpopulations of patients benefit from this therapy.

Objective: The purpose of this narrative review is to succinctly summarize the existing data on the predictive factors of clinical response to intra-articular hyaluronic acid to identify the patient profile most likely to benefit from this therapy.

What We Should Expect from an Innovative Intra-Articular Hyaluronic Acid Product: Expert Opinion Based on a Comprehensive Review of the Literature.

Background: Intra-articular hyaluronic acid (IAHA) products are often used in the treatment of adults with mild-to-moderate knee osteoarthritis (KOA). The International Symposium on Intra-Articular Treatment (ISIAT) convened a multidisciplinary technical expert panel to define characteristics for an innovative IAHA product that should answer unmet needs in the clinical management of adults with mild-to-moderate KOA.

Methods: An initial set of evidence-based statements was developed based on data extracted from articles identified through a comprehensive literature search.

Early Osteoarthritis Questionnaire (EOAQ): a tool to assess knee osteoarthritis at initial stage.

Background: Early stage of osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by joint stiffness and pain as well as by subclinical structural changes that may affect cartilage, synovium, and bone. At the moment, the lack of a validated definition of early osteoarthritis (EOA) does not allow to make an early diagnosis and adopt a therapeutic strategy to slow disease progression. Also, no questionnaires are available to evaluate the early stage, and therefore this remains an unmet need.

Self-organization and dewetting kinetics in sub-10 nm diblock copolymer line/space lithography.

In this work, we investigated the self-assembly of a lamellar block copolymer (BCP) under different wetting conditions. We explored the influence of the chemical composition of under-layers and top-coats on the thin film stability, self-assembly kinetics and BCP domain orientation. Three different chemistries were chosen for these surface affinity modifiers and their composition was tuned in order to provide either neutral wetting (i.

EUROVISCO Good Practice Recommendations for a First Viscosupplementation in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis.

Rationale: Viscosupplementation (VS) with hyaluronic acid is widely used in the management of knee osteoarthritis. There is no clear recommendation on the decision-making to achieve VS.

Design: Based on extensive research of the literature and expert opinion, the members of the EUROVISCO (European Viscosupplementation Consensus Group) task force were asked to give their degree of agreement with 60 issues, using a Delphi method.

Calcific tendinopathy: an unexpected side effect of tyrosine kinase inhibitor?

Musculoskeletal (MSK) pains have been reported during TKI treatment or after its discontinuation in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). We hypothesized that MSK pains originate from calcific tendinopathy according to preliminary clinical observations. We conducted a retrospective study including CML patients divided into three groups: patients with MSK pain during TKI treatment; asymptomatic patients during TKI treatment; patients with MSK pain after TKI discontinuation.

MRI and ultrasonography for detection of early interphalangeal osteoarthritis.

Objectives: To assess the interest of MRI and ultrasonography (US) in identifying early and advanced interphalangeal (IP) OA.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study including patients with symptomatic hand OA (n=33) and young healthy volunteers (n=26). Proximal and distal IP joints were graded according to Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) grades.

Intra-articular placebo effect in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: a survey of the current clinical evidence.

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a debilitating disease characterized by chronic pain, stiffness, and decreased mobility. Intra-articular injectable therapies show good clinical efficacy in improving symptoms; however, these therapies and their comparators (intra-articular saline) have been associated with a large underlying placebo effect. We aimed to describe the existing evidence on the challenges, hypotheses, and potential solutions to mitigate the intra-articular placebo effect in clinical trials in KOA.

Systematic Literature Review and Expert Opinion for the Use of Viscosupplementation with Hyaluronic Acid in Different Localizations of Osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a significant cause of disability. Considering the increasing diffusion of the viscosupplementation (VS) with hyaluronic acid (HA), the International Symposium Intra Articular Treatment (ISIAT) appointed a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) to identify the criteria for successful VS with a specific HA in OA; this through a systematic literature review (SLR), performed following the PRISMA guidelines interrogating Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Grey Matters and American College of Rheumatology (ACR/EULAR) databases and the opinion of international experts. The research included only studies on adults and humans without limitations of language or time of publication.

Retreatment with Hyaluronic Acid Viscosupplementation in Knee Osteoarthritis: Agreement between EUROVISCO Guidelines and Current Medical Practice.

Objectives: This work studied if and how current clinical practice agrees with European Viscosupplementation Consensus Group (EUROVISCO) recommendations and how this agreement might be different according to physician's specialization. In addition, this work aimed to identify key decision factors that practitioners consider in their decision to retreat or not a patient with hyaluronic acid viscosupplementation.

Methods: Practitioners have been invited by e-mail to participate in an online exercise on viscosupplementation retreatment.

Dry-Etching Processes for High-Aspect-Ratio Features with Sub-10 nm Resolution High-χ Block Copolymers.

Directed self-assembly of block copolymers (BCP) is a very attractive technique for the realization of functional nanostructures at high resolution. In this work, we developed full dry-etching strategies for BCP nanolithography using an 18 nm pitch lamellar silicon-containing block copolymer. Both an oxidizing Ar/O plasma and a nonoxidizing H/N plasma are used to remove the topcoat material of our BCP stack and reveal the perpendicular lamellae.

Viscosupplementation for the treatment of osteoarthritis. The contribution of EUROVISCO group.

Viscosupplementation (VS) is a symptomatic treatment for knee and other joint osteoarthritis (OA). Despite a long history of use, conflicting opinions remain on the best clinical indications and the most appropriate patients to be treated with intra-articular hyaluronic acid (IA-HA), the optimal dosing regimen and the modalities of retreatment. A multidisciplinary committee of European experts on OA (EUROVISCO) was constituted to formulate recommendations, aimed at helping physicians in the decision-making and the optimal achievement of VS.

The DIGICOD cohort: A hospital-based observational prospective cohort of patients with hand osteoarthritis - methodology and baseline characteristics of the population.

Objective: Despite its prevalence, there are few worldwide hand osteoarthritis (HOA) cohorts. The main objective of DIGItal COhort Design (DIGICOD) cohort is to investigate prognostic clinical, biological, genetic and imaging factors of clinical worsening after 6years follow-up.

Methods: DIGICOD is a hospital-based prospective cohort including patients>35years-old with symptomatic HOA fulfilling: (i) ACR criteria for HOA with≥2 symptomatic joints among proximal/distal interphalangeal joints or 1st interphalangeal joint with Kellgren-Lawrence (KL)≥2; or (ii) symptomatic thumb base OA with KL≥2.

Lithographically Defined Cross-Linkable Top Coats for Nanomanufacturing with High-χ Block Copolymers.

The directed self-assembly (DSA) of block copolymers (BCPs) is a powerful method for the manufacture of high-resolution features. Critical issues remain to be addressed for successful implementation of DSA, such as dewetting and controlled orientation of BCP domains through physicochemical manipulations at the BCP interfaces, and the spatial positioning and registration of the BCP features. Here, we introduce novel top-coat (TC) materials designed to undergo cross-linking reactions triggered by thermal or photoactivation processes.

Bone Status According to Neurofibromatosis Type 1 Phenotype: A Descriptive Study of 60 Women in France.

There is an increased risk of osteoporosis and an abnormal bone turn over in neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). Our objective is to evaluate bone status in NF1 and to look for associations with cutaneous phenotype. We conducted a descriptive, monocentric study.