Second double-blind, placebo-controlled trial on humans proves pain-relieving effect of gold-particle implantation in case of cervical osteoarthritis

In 2011, the Danish physician Dr. Hans-Kryger Kjerkegaard accomplished an important scientific breakthrough. As a pioneer in gold implantation on humans he has proved, in a second double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the pain-relieving effect of an extra-articular gold particle implantation for patients with cervical osteoarthritis.

The result of the 2-year trial is clear. The extra-articular gold particle implantation is a promising method of treatment with a lasting pain-relieving effect for patients with cervical osteoarthritis.

46 patients with X-ray-verified cervical osteoarthritis and chronic pain were included in the study from 2002 to 2004. One of the key factors for participating in the trial was a pain level of at least 6 on the visual analogue scale (VAS) of 0 to 10 (the VAS is a scale for self-assessment of pain). Dr. Kjerkegaard divided the people into two groups by lot. In the first group (A) 24 test subjects were treated with gold implants, while in the second group (B) 22 test subjects had a placebo implantation. In order to be able to assess the pain-relieving effect, a neurologist not acquainted with the kind of treatment determined the VAS values and the consumption of pain killers of all test persons prior to the treatment and one year afterwards.

The result of the study was pronounced:

In group A, treated with gold implants,

  • 16 out of 24 test persons experienced a considerable decrease in their symptoms in the year after the treatment,
  • the average VAS level dropped significantly from 7 to 2,
  • the consumption of pain killers was reduced by more than 30% for 2/3 of the test subjects.
In group B, in contrast, only 2 out of 22 test subjects experienced the improvements mentioned, and the average VAS level remained unchanged at 7.

Proceed to study ...