The University of the Sunshine Coast will soon begin trialling a new topical foam for the treatment of knee pain due to osteoarthritis.
Principal Investigator Dr Indika Leelasena said the trial would help in the search for more effective treatments with less side effects for people with osteoarthritis.
The clinical trial, in collaboration with Andros Pharmaceuticals, will be conducted at the UniSC Clinical Trials' clinic in Moreton Bay.
"Osteoarthritis is a common, debilitating and very painful condition for some middle-aged and elderly patients," Dr Leelasena said.
"There are oral medications on the market that, due to the administration method, can have unwanted side-effects.
"A treatment that can be administered topically like this foam, could provide minimal systemic impact to patients."
Researchers are seeking participants in good health or with stable medical conditions, aged between 18 and 85 for Phase One of the trial.
Volunteers between 35 and 85 years who experience knee pain due to osteoarthritis are sought for the second phase.
"During Phase One we will be investigating the safety and tolerability of the product on healthy volunteers, then we will move into Phase Two to determine the efficacy of the potential treatment on patients with knee pain due to osteoarthritis," Dr Leelasena said.
The treatment would be applied to both knees once or twice daily for between eight and 28 days depending on the phase of the trial. Participants will also need to commit to up to seven clinic visits over up to 23 days.
Those interested in participating can find more information at www.usc.edu.au/trials or call 07 5409 8640.
