Evaluation of Cell Therapy on Exercise Performance and Limb Perfusion in Peripheral Artery Disease: The CCTRN PACE Trial (Patients With Intermittent Claudication Injected With ALDH Bright Cells).

Background: Atherosclerotic peripheral artery disease affects 8% to 12% of Americans >65 years of age and is associated with a major decline in functional status, increased myocardial infarction and stroke rates, and increased risk of ischemic amputation. Current treatment strategies for claudication have limitations. PACE (Patients With Intermittent Claudication Injected With ALDH Bright Cells) is a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-sponsored, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 exploratory clinical trial designed to assess the safety and efficacy of autologous bone marrow-derived aldehyde dehydrogenase bright (ALDHbr) cells in patients with peripheral artery disease and to explore associated claudication physiological mechanisms.

Autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell therapy for critical limb ischemia is effective and durable.

Objective: We have previously shown that autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell (ABMNC) therapy improves measures of limb perfusion, rest pain, wound healing, and amputation-free survival (AFS) at 1 year in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI). Long-term durability of ABMNC therapy for CLI remains unknown. The objective of the current study was to evaluate long-term clinical outcomes 5 years after treatment.

Can a nurse-directed intervention reduce the exposure of patients with knee osteoarthritis to nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs?

Objective: : The objective of this study was to evaluate a nurse-directed self-management intervention for managed care patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA), emphasizing nonpharmacologic (NonPharm) management of pain and functional impairments and minimization of exposure to the risks and costs of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Methods: : Subjects were 186 patients from a large health maintenance organization (HMO) who satisfied American College of Rheumatology clinical criteria for knee OA. Two of 4 HMO sites (and their patient cohorts) were randomly assigned to the education group; the other 2 served as a delayed-intervention control group.

Tidal irrigation as treatment for knee osteoarthritis: a sham-controlled, randomized, double-blinded evaluation.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of tidal irrigation (TI) in comparison with a well-matched sham irrigation (SI) procedure as a treatment for knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: One hundred eighty subjects with knee OA were randomized to receive TI or SI, with clinical followup over the ensuing 12 months. The primary outcomes of interest were change in pain and function, as measured by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC).