MIAMI – A common treatment for osteoarthritis may actually be making the condition worse.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Kevin O’Donnell with HCA Florida Mercy Hospital said Researchers with the University of California at San Francisco investigated the rate of progression of the disease in patients who were given cortisone shots versus those given injections of hyaluronic acid gel to treat discomfort.
“This new study has shown that in comparison to the gel shot or hyaluronic acid shot and placebo, cortisone actually increased the rate of progression seen on both MRI and x-ray. and so the takeaway of that study is that cortisone may not be as benign as we think and could in fact be detrimental to the cells that supply the cartilage,” O’Donnell said.
More than 32,000,000 Americans suffer from osteoarthritis which most often affects the hands, hips and knees.
And people over 45 who sleep a varying number of hours or fall asleep at different times could increase their risk of developing atherosclerosis according to a study published this week in the journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers compared fatty deposits on artery walls in people with irregular sleep habits versus those with more consistent sleep patterns.
They found that people with sleep patterns that varied by more than two hours in one week were more likely to have high coronary artery calcium scores, which is one measure of heart disease.