Osteoarthritis of the Knee — Efficacy Study of an Unloading Brace for Knee Osteoarthritis
Citation(s)
Barnes CL, Cawley PW, Hederman B Effect of CounterForce brace on symptomatic relief in a group of patients with symptomatic unicompartmental osteoarthritis: a prospective 2-year investigation. Am J Orthop (Belle Mead NJ). 2002 Jul;31(7):396-401.
Lethbridge-Cejku M, Tobin JD, Scott WW Jr, Reichle R, Plato CC, Hochberg MC The relationship of age and gender to prevalence and pattern of radiographic changes of osteoarthritis of the knee: data from Caucasian participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Aging (Milano). 1994 Oct;6(5):353-7.
Matsuno H, Kadowaki KM, Tsuji H Generation II knee bracing for severe medial compartment osteoarthritis of the knee. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1997 Jul;78(7):745-9.
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.
