Resorbable microspheres show 12-month GAE pain gains

Genicular artery embolization using rapidly resorbable gelatin-based microspheres was associated with sustained pain reduction and functional improvement at 12 months in patients with knee osteoarthritis, according to a Radiology study.

The prospective, single-center observational study included 194 participants with osteoarthritis-related knee pain that had not responded to conservative treatment. Participants underwent treatment between July and November 2024.

Researchers performed 239 GAE procedures using rapidly resorbable gelatin-based microspheres. Forty-five participants underwent 2 procedures for bilateral knee osteoarthritis, with the second procedure performed within 4 weeks of the first.

All procedures were technically successful. Mild adverse events occurred in 6.7% of procedures, including transient skin discoloration and 1 superficial groin hematoma. No moderate or severe adverse events were observed.

Median numeric rating scale pain scores decreased from 7 at baseline to 3 at 12 months. The change was statistically significant, according to the authors.

Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score subscales also improved at 12 months. Daily activity scores increased from 53 to 71.5, sports and recreation scores increased from 15 to 36, pain scores improved from 44 to 65, and quality-of-life scores increased from 19 to 40, according to RSNA.

At 12 months, 80% of participants achieved improvements in pain scores exceeding the minimum clinically important difference. Follow-up rates were 94% at 6 weeks, 89% at 3 months, 89% at 6 months, and 79% at 12 months.

“For many patients with knee osteoarthritis, there is a real treatment gap today,” said Florian Nima Fleckenstein, MD, of Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin.

The authors said rapidly resorbable gelatin-based microspheres are size-calibrated spherical particles designed to dissolve within hours. They noted that traditional embolic agents used for GAE include imipenem-cilastatin and permanent microspheres.

The study was observational and single-center. The authors concluded that GAE using rapidly resorbable gelatin-based microspheres was safe and associated with clinically meaningful improvement in osteoarthritis-related knee pain.