Independent Study Reveals SYNVISC(R) Offers Longer Knee Pain Relief and Greater Patient Satisfaction for Those Suffering from Osteoarthritis o...( CAMBRIDGE Mass. Oct. 22 /- Genzym...)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Genzyme Corporation (Nasdaq: GENZ) has announced findings from an independent study which investigated effectiveness and patient satisfaction following viscosupplementation treatments with Synvisc and Hyalgan in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. This landmark study demonstrated that Synvisc provided longer knee pain relief and a higher rate of patient satisfaction. This study was led by orthopaedic surgeon Raghu Raman and a team of doctors from the Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics at Hull Royal Infirmary.

Synvisc is injected into the knee joint. It provides a cushioning and lubricating effect, and relieves knee pain associated with osteoarthritis, one of the most common forms of arthritis.

The study showed Synvisc had significantly better knee pain relief which began earlier and lasted for longer than the Hyalgan group. Additionally, in measuring patient satisfaction and health-related quality of life, only Synvisc showed statistically significant improvement over the long term for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Patient satisfaction was consistently higher for Synvisc, particularly at three months and beyond. Overall study results identified that clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction are superior with Synvisc over Hyalgan.

About Synvisc

Synvisc is the top selling viscosupplementation treatment on the market. It received FDA approval in 1997 and has been used to treat over 5 million knees in the U.S. Synvisc is indicated for the treatment of pain due to osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee in patients who have failed to respond adequately to conservative nonpharmacologic therapy and simple analgesics, for example, acetaminophen. It may p
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