Dear vetteman360-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question. As you probably already know, we are by policy prohibited
from providing medical advice in this forum. What I have managed to do
however is to provide you with research on the specific issues you
asked about and indicate what has been publicly published on the
matters:
?What is the purpose of Hyalgin (sic) shots??
Believe it or not, HyalganŽ (the brand name for sodium hyaluronate) is
extracted and derived from rooster combs. Sodium hyaluronate It is a
naturally occurring substance and when purified in buffered
physiological sodium chloride, it becomes known as Hyaluronic Acid.
This preparation is used primarily to treat patients with painful
osteoarthritis and similar conditions who are not responding to simple
analgesics (such as acetaminophen, for example), exercise, and
physical therapy. Injections into the knee joint may or may not be
administered in conjunction with cortisone or other corticosteroids.
?How many times can I have them??
According to the Hyalgan.com web site, a typical cycle of treatment of
HyalganŽ is actually quite simple. It consists of one 20 mg/2 mL
injection delivered into the knee at weekly intervals for 5 weeks. In
studies, some patients are said to have reported that they experienced
some benefit from only three injections (over a period of 3 weeks).
?What will the Hyalgin (sic) shots do to my knees over time??
HyalganŽ has only been in use since 1987 (though a few of it?s studies
date back to the 1970?s) so the long-term effects are not yet widely
known or documented. There are a variety of side effects however that
presumably could manifest into something more serious. The most common
side effects of HYALGAN therapy are injection-site pain, swelling,
heat and/or redness, rash, itching, or bruising around the joint. Any
such effects are generally mild and usually do not last long. It
appears, for now, that any long-term issues are largely positive and
unremarkable. These and other conditions are discussed at length in
the distributors? data sheet on this preparation:
SANOFI-SYNTHELABO INC
http://www.sanofi-synthelabo.us/products/pi_hyalgan/pi_hyalgan.html#adverse
I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher
OTHER INFORMATION SOURCES
HYALGAN
http://www.Hyalgan.com
ABOUT HYALGAN
http://www.hyalgan.com/about/default.asp
HYALGAN ? PATIENT INFORMATION
http://www.hyalgan.com/patient_info.asp
SANOFI-SYNTHELABO INC
http://www.sanofi-synthelabo.us/products/pi_hyalgan/pi_hyalgan.html
There are also a number of data sheets and articles on this
preparation that may be somewhat out of date but still contain
valuable fundamental information:
GENERAL INFORMATION ON HYALURONIC ACID
http://www.drreevesonline.com/Syn7info.html
SHIRE PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED
http://emc.medicines.org.uk/emc/assets/c/html/DisplayDoc.asp?DocumentID=1997
AMERICAN FAMILY PHYSICIAN
?INTRA-ARTICULAR HYALURONIC ACID INJECTIONS FOR KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS?
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000801/565.html
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINES USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
HYALGAN
SODIUM HYALURONATE
HYALURONIC ACID
INDICATIONS
WARNINGS
ADVERSE
SIDE EFFECTS
CONTRAINDICATIONS |
