EFFICACY EVALUATION OF INTRA-ARTICULAR INJECTION OF AN ALENDRONATE-HYALURONIC ACID CONJUGATE IN AN IN VIVO MODEL OF OSTEOARTHRITIS

Purpose: Intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid (HA) are widely used to treat osteoarthritis (OA). HYADD®4 (HS), a hexadecylamide derivative of HA, has demonstrated in preclinical studies greater beneficial effects to those of unmodified hyaluronans. Recently, in vivo experiments have demonstrated that bisphosphonates may have a therapeutic potential to attenuate the progression of OA. Among these, alendronate (ALN) has been shown to decrease MMP-13 and ADAMTS-5 expression and increase COL2A1 mRNA levels in in vitro OA models.