Viscosupplementation treatment method in light and medium arthrosis

Viscosupplementation is a therapeutic treatment introduced since 1970, while the exogenous supplementation of hyaluronic acid and hyaluronate polymers was approved for the cases of knee arthrosis in 1997. The procedure consists in intra- articular injections of elastoviscous solutions for improving the structure of the synovial fluid. Hyaluronan is the only component of the synovial fluid responsible for viscosity property. The therapeutic purpose of viscosupplementation is that of re- establishing rheological homeostasis. When the joint in question presents an arthrosic process, the huge hyaluronan molecule is divided into more small fragments because of the hostile environment in which it finds itself in and which contains cytokines, metalloproteinase and neuropeptides; the biomechanical and biological characteristics of hyaluronate as thus greatly diminished. Consequently, viscosupplementation determines the normalization of the synthesis of normal hyaluronan, being known that, in arthrosis, the articular surfaces synthesize abnormal hyaluronan, which is low molecular weight hyaluronan.