The purpose of this study was to analyze the biochemical characteristics of synovial fluids after treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with intra-articularly injected hyaluronate (HA).
In a double-blind study, 13 patients received intra-articular injections of 1% HA in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) while 13 other patients were injected 0.01% HA in PBS, as the control group. Injections were administered once a week for five weeks.
Clinical efficacy and characteristics of synovial fluid were compared between groups.
Significant clinical improvement was observed in the HA-treated group compared to the control group. The viscosity of retained synovial fluid increased. Stringing and HA concentration increased significantly whereas the concentrations of protein and chondroitin sulfate 4 and 6 decreased significantly. The HA molecular weight remained the same in both groups.
Intra-articular HA injection altered the properties of synovial fluid and proved efficacious for patients with RA.