Some recent advances in the symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis.

In over 400 treatments with procaine intravenously, moderate to good improvement was noted in about 60 per cent of patients with osteoarthritis and radiculitis. Definite improvement after a single treatment was noted occasionally, but more often relief was not obtained until six to eight treatments had been given. Symptoms due to osteoarthritic changes in peripheral joints did not respond as well as did those due to spinal arthritis. Curare relieves some of the pain of arthritis due to muscle spasm, but does not bring improvement in motion of the small joints, such as those of the fingers. Preliminary experience with a new synthetic drug, 3-ortho-toloxy-1, 2-propanediol (Tolserol(R)), which produces muscular relaxation differing from that induced by curare, suggests further clinical trial.Intra-articular acidification by injection relieved pain in about 50 per cent of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.