are there any clinical trials using synvisc as an alternative to hip
replacement surgery?

Hi dee361-ga! Thank you for your excellent question.

Synvisc is a synthetic substance made from hyaluron, a substance that
is found in the joint fluid of healthy adult joints. This substance
acts as a “shock absorber” and lubricant necessary for proper joint
function. It has been shown to be fairly effective in the treatment of
pain associated with Osteoarthritis of the knee. Current research is
underway to test its effectiveness in arthritic pain of the hip. It
has already been approved for the treatment of hip pain in Europe and
Genzyme (the makers of Synvisc) has plans to launch Phase 3 testing of
Synvisc. Phase 3 testing is the final phase of testing before a
company receives FDA approval for the drug. During Phase 1 and Phase 2
testing the safety and efficacy of a drug has already been proven, and
the 3rd phase is a chance to further study the overall efficacy in a
larger patient population.

According to a posting on the site
http://www.medadnews.com/news/show_article_f.asp?articleID=94252&catid=13
Genzyme is set to enroll their first patient here in the United States
into their Synvisc in Osteoarthritis of the hip trial. For more
information, you can contact Genzyme directly at the following address
and phone number to inquire about specific locations for testing and
the process by which one can enroll in the trial. According to
Genzyme’s website they are currently enrolling patients.

U.S. Scientific Development
One Mountain Road 
Framingham, MA 01701
F: 508 872 9080

For a complete list of Genzyme’s clinical trials with descriptions of
current Phases see http://www.genzyme.com/research/clinical_trials/clinical_home.asp.

For more information regarding Synvisc see
http://us.synvisc.com/aboutsynvisc/index.asp.

I hope that this information proves useful for you. If you need any
further clarification please don’t hesitate to ask.

Boquinha-ga

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Search Strategy
Synvisc + clinical + trials + hip
(://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=synvisc+clinical+trials+hip)

about + synvisc (://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=synvisc+about

Dee, you are likely to get a much better answer if you raise your
price. Although there are many researchers here who answer medical
questions, I doubt that any will be interested in taking on this task
for such a small fee.