J Korean Orthop Res Soc.  2010 Jun;13(1):16-22.

Pharmacological Treatment of Osteoarthritis

• Kim HA

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a slowly progressive degenerative disorder of weight-bearing joints, mainly characterized by joint pain and functional limitation. Current pharmacological treatment of OA mainly focuses on the alleviation of symptom, with few interventions available for modifying the degeneration of cartilage. In this review, various pharmacological options would be presented with the discussion of treatment efficacy mainly regarding pain control. Evidence for some agents indicating potential prevention of disease progression would also be presented.

Keyword

Osteoarthritis; Pharmacological treatment; Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; DMOADs; Hyaloronan

MeSH Terms

Arthralgia
Cartilage
Disease Progression
Joints
Osteoarthritis
Treatment Outcome
Weight-Bearing