Posted on 09/06/2023 9:17:19 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Among patients with knee pain, those who take a widely used class of blood pressure-lowering medications called beta-blockers appear to have a lower risk of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for the treatment of advanced osteoarthritis (OA), suggests a study.
"Our results indicate that the use of β-blockers, especially nonselective blockers, was associated with a lower likelihood of TKA," according to the case-control study by Iskandar Tamimi, MD, Ph.D. and colleagues. Beta-blockers may slow the progression of OA by reducing inflammatory mediators involved in cartilage degeneration—which may provide clues to the development of new treatment approaches for OA.
Researchers identified 300 patients who were evaluated for knee pain. These case patients were matched for age, sex, calendar year, and grade of arthritis to 300 controls.
Beta-blocker treatment was evaluated for possible effects on the risk of undergoing TKA.
In the adjusted analysis, patients with any use of beta-blockers were about half as likely to undergo TKA. The association was specific to non-selective beta-blockers, which target both beta-1 and beta-2 adrenergic receptors. For patients with knee pain taking these medications, the risk of undergoing TKA was reduced by 54%. In contrast, patients taking selective beta-blockers—which target beta-1 receptors located mainly in the heart—had no significant reduction in TKA risk.
The protective effect was even stronger with prolonged use of beta-blockers: Patients taking beta-blockers for five years or longer had a 64% reduction in TKA risk. The association was also stronger for patients with greater adherence, with a filled prescription on at least 75% of days.
Previous studies have suggested that beta-blockers downregulate various inflammatory mediators involved in OA.
The researchers write note that their study cannot draw any conclusions regarding the "true causal link" between beta-blocker treatment and the risk of undergoing TKA.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
My elderly dad had partial knee replacements in his mid 60's. The surgery was a success some 20 years ago. Fast forward a few years and he has had both shoulder joints replaced in the last couple of years
How can the ‘patient’ not know that no surgery was performed? No incisions, no inflammation, no pain?
Might this be a Nigerian thing?
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