Efficacy and tolerance of Harpagophytum procumbens versus diacerhein in treatment of osteoarthritis.

In a double-blind, randomized, multicentre clinical study, the efficacy and tolerance of a herbal medicine product, Harpadol (6 capsules/day, each containing 435 mg of powdered cryoground powder Harpagophytum procumbens), was compared with diacerhein 100 mg/day in the treatment, for 4 months, of 122 patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee and hip. Assessments of pain and functional disability were made on a 10 cm horizontal visual analogue scale; severity of osteoarthritis was evaluated by Lequesne's index. Spontaneous pain showed a significant improvement during the course of the study and there was no difference in the efficacy of the two treatments.

[The school for patients with chronic backache. Retrospective study of 93 severely handicapped patients with backache and their socio-occupational status].

A small percentage of low back pain sufferers are resistant to the various types of treatment tried and the problem becomes chronic. It is for this severely incapacitated group, threatened by socio-occupational misfortune, that we created: the School for Chronic Low Back Pain Sufferers. One hundred and five patients in whom treatment had failed were included after insurance programmes had agreed to provide cover.