Morphological analysis of knee synovial membrane biopsies from a randomized controlled clinical study comparing the effects of sodium hyaluronate (Hyalgan®) and methylprednisolone acetate (Depomedrol®) in osteoarthritis

Abstract

At least in the medium term, both HY and MP modified a number of structural variables of the synovial membrane of the osteoarthritic human knee towards the appearance of that of normal synovium. The effect was more evident in primary OA than in OA secondary to a traumatic event. This is the first evidence that local hyaluronan injections modify the structural organization of the human knee synovium in OA.