A form of arthritis that affects more than five million Britons could be eased with a simple treatment that does not involve surgery, a study has found.
Scientists believe they have found a minimally-invasive way to treat knee osteoarthritis – the most common form of arthritis which causes pain, inflammation, stiffness and reduced mobility.
According to the NHS, the condition is currently treated in various ways; lifestyle tweaks such as exercise and weight loss; medication including painkillers and anti-inflammatories; and surgeries such as joint replacement, injections, or joint fusing, designed to make the area stronger.
But researchers in Germany say a minimally invasive treatment named genicular artery embolisation (GAE), which works by targeting abnormal blood vessels that have gathered around joints, causing increased pain, is also effective.
Writing in the journal Radiology, the study team said GAE – which is already occasionally used for those who fail to feel benefits of traditional osteoarthritis therapy – was ‘safe’ and provided ‘significant, lasting pain relief’.
This was alongside drastic improvements in mobility, pain threshold and day-to-day function for patients with knee osteoarthritis.
It could prove to be another breakthrough in treating the condition that blights an estimated 5.4 million people in the UK and more than 365 million worldwide.
Florian Fleckenstein, deputy head of interventional radiology at Charite University Medicine Berlin, and the study’s lead author, said: ‘For many patients there is a real treatment gap today.
Scientists have found a non-invasive way to tackle knee osteoarthritis – the most common form of arthritis which causes pain, inflammation, stiffness and reduced mobility in the joints
‘Conservative measures such as intra-articular injections no longer provide sufficient relief, but joint replacement is not an option for medical or personal reasons.’
During the treatment, a radiologist guides a thin tube into the abnormal blood vessels and injects tiny particles to block them, stem the inflammation and ease the pain.
The injected particles are gelatin-based, and dissolve within a matter of hours after doing their job.
Dr Fleckenstein explained: ‘By reducing both inflammation and pain, GAE with resorbable microspheres may be the first procedure that alters the course of the disease, slowing its progression.’
The study involved 194 people with osteoarthritis-related knee pain, including 114 women and 80 men. Participants had an average age of 69 and an average body mass index (BMI) of 28.4, meaning they are overweight.
Being overweight is a common trigger that causes osteoarthritis of the knee, as well as previous injuries to the area. It can also be caused by genetics.
All of the participants had failed to respond well to at least three months of traditional treatment before joining the study.
Between July and November 2024, each participant then underwent at least one GAE procedure – 45 patients received two.
Participants had rated their pain at seven out of 10 before treatment, which dropped to just four out of 10 after six weeks.
At both the six and 12-month follow-ups, average pain scores had fallen further to just three out of 10.
Over the 12 months of treatment, patients also reported improvements across every measure of knee health.
They had a greater ability to take part in sports and recreation and their measurement for quality of life scores more than doubled.
Dr Fleckenstein said: ‘In our cohort, we saw a significant drop in pain and a significant increase in function, including sports and recreation and daily activity. Most importantly, their quality of life significantly increased.’
He added that the results ‘carry real weight because they come from real-world data’ and said it is the largest body of evidence yet to support GAE for future treatments.
Dr Fleckenstein concluded: ‘For the right patient, it can mean lasting relief from a single, minimally invasive procedure – a meaningful new option between injections and joint replacement.’
