Osteoarthritis

An injection commonly used to treat osteoarthritis in knees is hardly better than a placebo for relieving pain and increases the risk of harmful side effects, according to research.

Injections of hyaluronic acid have been prescribed since the 1970s, but despite previous research indicating the treatment is ineffective, its use has continued, and even increased, in some countries.

When Dolly the sheep was put down before her 7th birthday in 2003, she was said to suffer from age-related osteoarthritis, raising red flags that clones may grow old faster. But scientists said Nov. 23 that the fear of premature, clone-related ageing appears to have been misplaced. Dolly's joint disease was, in fact, quite normal.