| Abstrakt: |
Cost-benefit ratios emphasize benefits as much as they do risks but the consequences of not treating also figure in the equation. For osteoarthritis (OA), most drugs designed to alter the progression have either been found wanting or have been withdrawn. That leaves palliation of symptoms as the search for pharmacological intervention to replace the very effective surgery continues. Guidelines to aid in the search succeed in defining alternatives to amelioration but less satisfactority define disease modifiers. Much of this derives from a misunderstanding: OA is not a disease, though it often provokes symptoms, but rather is the final common pathway of all events at a joint. |
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