Doctors to use sugar in arthritis surgery
DOCTORS could cut the risk of patients developing arthritis by using sugar in surgery.
Research has found that people who have operations for joint problems may be given a dose of it to prevent them developing the debilitating condition.
Surgery increases the risk of osteoarthritis because it can damage cartilage cells.
But scientists from Edinburgh University have discovered that cartilage could be protected – and even improved – by adding sugar to the saline solution used to wash out joints during operations.
Funded by Arthritis Research UK, the findings could bring new hope for tens of thousands each year.
Its research director Dr Stephen Simpson said: “It’s extraordinary that something as simple as a sugar solution can have such a beneficial, protective effect during surgery and can actually help repair cartilage damage.”
The findings were published in the journal Osteoarthritis And Cartilage.
