Professor Paul Lee was the first person to use this novel iPAGG (Polyacrylamide) substance in the UK to treat patient with Knee Osteoarthritis since September 2021.
A systematic review by the University of Lincoln and MSK Doctors pooled all available medical studies with over 400 patients has confirm the effectiveness of this new gel injection. The study summarises the comparison between this iPAGG injections to the traditional injections for knee pain and have found that is significantly better and longer lasting.
This Polyacrylamide has a long track record in the medical industry and over 1 million syringes has been use in human as a facial filler for aesthic and bulking agent to treat incontinence. It also has a good track record in the in the animal world use by Vets to treat lame horses.
This gel adheres to and insulate the lining of the join (synovial membrane) and acts as a warp (biological scaffold) which insulate the joint to shield it from angry inflammatory cells that lined the joint (the synovium). So it is kind of acting as a special shield.
Professor Lee explains:
‘ We have great result with this new gel, it seems to works when other injections has failed. Most importantly, it is works for patients with patella -femoral (kneecap) pain.’
Over 200 syringes has be used in MSK Doctors and London Cartilage Clinic since it launch in September 2021. Beside the happy patients and improve in functional scores, the MRI scans 6 months following injections has shown some promising results. In a recent clinical article in the Journal of Arthritis, it has shown this gel can significantly reduce bruising within the bone in patients with grade 4 bone on bone arthritis.
This iPAGG gel does not get absorb or destroy by the body, the way that it behave is similar to a knee implant. Once it was put in, it stays there, it integrades and become a part of the body. ‘It is an injectable implant to a joint and it is powerful, so we must take it very seriously. The same prep work for knee implants should done before injection, due to the nature of this gel, it should only be use by experience doctors with appropriate back up system in place.’
A team in the University of Lincoln are working with MSK Doctors, The Regenerative Clinic and London Cartilage Clinic to track and follow up the clinical result for this novel gel injection treatment to the knee.
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