Objective: This study was performed to investigate the effect of hyaluronic acid secretor in osteoarthritis of the knee. Method: Among the 51 patients who were initially participated in this study, 4 patients were excluded due to side effects. The patients were divided into two groups; one group was treated with hyaluronic acid secretor and the other group was treated with glucosamine. At 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after the onset of treatment, the effects of treatment were assessed by visual analogue scale(VAS), Lequesne's Index, and physical examination. For histopathological investigation, synoviocytes sampled from human osteoarthritis knee joint were cultured in a medium mixed with hyaluronic acid secretor, and the production of hyaluronic acid and collagen were measured. Results: There was significant improvement of VAS, Lequesne's Index and physical examination in both the hyaluronic acid secretor and glucosamine treatment groups (p＜0.05), but earlier improvement was observed in the hyaluronic acid secretor treatment group. Hyaluronic acid and collagen increased significantly in the cultured medium of synoviocytes and hyaluronic acid secretor. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that treatment with hyaluronic acid secretor is effective on the treatment of patients with osteoarthritis which may be secondary to increased synthesis of hyaluronic acid and collagen. (J Korean Assoc Pain Med 2004;3:132-138)

KeywordsOral, Hyaluronic acid, Glucosamine, Osteoarthritis