Synvisc Provides Cushion Between Bones and Joints for OA Patients

Date: September 22, 2004

“My knees almost cost me my passion:”
-Champion wrestler Christine Nordhagen

Two bad knees. That’s the price Christine Nordhagen has paid for being the most decorated female wrestler in the history of the sport. Becoming one of the best female wrestlers in the world left Nordhagen with no cartilage in either of her knees, causing bone-on-bone contact and excruciating pain.

“It got to the point that I couldn’t even get into my stance without my knees hurting me, “ says Calgary, Alberta-based Nordhagen, who just competed in her first Olympics in Athens and is a six-time World Champion. “The doctors tried everything, but the stiffness and pain never went away. I knew that if I wanted to walk again, let alone compete, I needed to get my knees treated.”

Enter Synvisc. Synvisc gel is a natural substance – not a drug - made from a naturally occurring derivative in the body. When Synvisc is injected into the knee, it supplements the cushioning and lubricating qualities of synovial fluid and acts as an effective shock absorber.

To treat her condition, Nordhagen’s doctor decided to give her injections of Synvisc to supplement the fluid in her knees, and give her the necessary pain relief and mobility needed to compete. “The difference was like night and day,” Nordhagen says. “I was able to wrestle without pain, and get myself into proper shape to continue my wrestling career.”

One in ten Canadians suffer from the same pain and immobility that stopped Nordhagen in her tracks, but their condition is due to osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Unfortunately, many OA patients think that strong medication is their only choice.

“Most patients I see try to relieve the pain in their knees by taking pills like NSAIDs (anti-inflammatory drugs), which can have serious side-effects,” says Dr. Ted English, Orthopedic Surgeon at Scarborough Hospital, Scarborough, Ontario. “And, while NSAIDs are effective at masking pain, they don’t get to the root of the problem, which in most cases is a breakdown in quality of the synovial fluid within the knee.”

When synovial fluid - which provides cushion and lubrication within the knee joint - breaks down, pain and loss of mobility results. In an osteoarthritic knee, synovial fluid does not lubricate properly or act as an effective shock absorber when weight is placed on the knee.

“The pain got so bad at times that it prevented me from performing my daily activities. I wanted to treat the problem, not just mask the pain, and do it without risking my health,” says Anita, OA sufferer in Waterloo, Ontario.

Patients want a treatment that will effectively and safely treat the problem, relieve their pain and increase their mobility without harmful side-effects, notes Dr. English. “Since Synvisc is a local and not systemic therapy, it goes directly to where the problem lies in the knee joint, and stays there to function like natural synovial fluid.”

“Knowing that Synvisc is directly in my knee helping to alleviate the pain and increase my mobility is very comforting. I’ve got too much happening in my life right now to let OA literally bring me to my knees,” adds Anita.

Synvisc is a product of Genzyme Corporation, a biotechnology and health care products company that develops innovative products and services for major unmet medical needs. Genzyme Canada Inc., located in Mississauga, Ontario, is the Canadian affiliate of Genzyme Corp., headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

For more information, please contact Karisma Communications at 416-663-1500
Sandra Grilo, ext. 223 or Alon Barmapov, ext. 234

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