NCT07202390

Brief Summary

The investigators have shown in three pilot studies that intra-articular metallic gold microparticles can reduce knee osteoarthritis pain for up to two years. These results are noteworthy considering the growing number of older adults who suffer from osteoarthritis pain, which contributes to increased demand on healthcare resources. Demonstrating effective treatment could alleviate this burden for a significant portion of the aging population. The specific aim is to evaluate whether intra-articular metallic gold microparticles are superior to placebo in reducing the need for additional treatment in patients with knee osteoarthritis within one year. The investigators will test the hypothesis that intra-articular metallic gold microparticles reduce subsequent treatment events by more than 50% compared to placebo during this period.

Trial Health

65
Monitor

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
240

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable knee-osteoarthritis

Timeline
33mo left

Started Feb 2026

Longer than P75 for not_applicable knee-osteoarthritis

Status
not yet recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress10%
Feb 2026Feb 2029

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

September 5, 2025

Completed
26 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

October 1, 2025

Completed
4 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

February 1, 2026

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

February 1, 2026

Completed
3 years until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

February 1, 2029

Expected
Last Updated

October 1, 2025

Status Verified

September 1, 2025

Enrollment Period

Same day

First QC Date

September 5, 2025

Last Update Submit

September 29, 2025

Conditions

Keywords

Intraarticular gold; knee osteoarthritis

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • The primary outcome is any additional treatment event such as, re-referral, intra-articular injection, arthroscopy or any knee replacement surgery within 1 year.

    Time to event

    1 year

Secondary Outcomes (4)

  • The PainDetect questionnaire

    1 year

  • The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC)

    1 year

  • The quality of life score EQ-5D-5L

    1 yar

  • Proteomic analysis of synovial fluid and serum

    8 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Intraarticular gold microprarticles plus hyaluronic acid

EXPERIMENTAL

20 mg metallic gold microparticles (72.000 particles, 20-40 µm) will be injected into the knee joint using 2 mL hyaluronic acid.

Other: 20 mg metallic gold microparticles (72.000 particles, 20-40 µm) will be injected into the knee joint using 2 mL hyaluronic acid.Other: Intervention

Intraarticular hyaluronic acid

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

2 mL hyaluronic acid will be injected into the knee joint

Other: 20 mg metallic gold microparticles (72.000 particles, 20-40 µm) will be injected into the knee joint using 2 mL hyaluronic acid.Other: Intervention

Interventions

20 mg metallic gold microparticles (72.000 particles, 20-40 µm) will be injected into the knee joint using 2 mL hyaluronic acid.

Intraarticular gold microprarticles plus hyaluronic acidIntraarticular hyaluronic acid

20 mg metallic gold microparticles (72.000 particles, 20-40 µm) will be injected into the knee joint using 2 mL hyaluronic acid.

Intraarticular gold microprarticles plus hyaluronic acidIntraarticular hyaluronic acid

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • more than 6 months of knee pain without efficacy on pain of conservative treatment, radiographic knee osteoarthritis according to Kellgren-Lawrence grade 1-4, and age ≥18years

You may not qualify if:

  • malalignment, indication for knee replacement surgery, malignancy, active infection and antibiotic treatment, active treatment with steroids, biological or other anti-Rheumatic medication, inability to comply with the protocol, inadequacy in the written and spoken national language

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Related Publications (25)

  • Barfod KW, Blond L, Mikkelsen RK, Bagge J, Holmich LR, Kallemose T, Troelsen A, Holmich P. Treatment of knee osteoarthritis with a single injection of autologous micro-fragmented adipose tissue is not superior to a placebo saline injection: a blinded randomised controlled trial with 2-year follow-up. Br J Sports Med. 2025 Aug 26;59(17):1219-1227. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2024-108732.

    PMID: 40101939BACKGROUND
  • Kim KI, Kim MS, Kim JH. Intra-articular Injection of Autologous Adipose-Derived Stem Cells or Stromal Vascular Fractions: Are They Effective for Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis? A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Am J Sports Med. 2023 Mar;51(3):837-848. doi: 10.1177/03635465211053893. Epub 2022 Jan 12.

    PMID: 35019764BACKGROUND
  • Peck J, Slovek A, Miro P, Vij N, Traube B, Lee C, Berger AA, Kassem H, Kaye AD, Sherman WF, Abd-Elsayed A. A Comprehensive Review of Viscosupplementation in Osteoarthritis of the Knee. Orthop Rev (Pavia). 2021 Jul 10;13(2):25549. doi: 10.52965/001c.25549. eCollection 2021.

    PMID: 34745480BACKGROUND
  • Pereira TV, Juni P, Saadat P, Xing D, Yao L, Bobos P, Agarwal A, Hincapie CA, da Costa BR. Viscosupplementation for knee osteoarthritis: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2022 Jul 6;378:e069722. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2022-069722.

    PMID: 36333100BACKGROUND
  • Richard MJ, Driban JB, McAlindon TE. Pharmaceutical treatment of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2023 Apr;31(4):458-466. doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2022.11.005. Epub 2022 Nov 19.

    PMID: 36414224BACKGROUND
  • Bannuru RR, Osani MC, Vaysbrot EE, Arden NK, Bennell K, Bierma-Zeinstra SMA, Kraus VB, Lohmander LS, Abbott JH, Bhandari M, Blanco FJ, Espinosa R, Haugen IK, Lin J, Mandl LA, Moilanen E, Nakamura N, Snyder-Mackler L, Trojian T, Underwood M, McAlindon TE. OARSI guidelines for the non-surgical management of knee, hip, and polyarticular osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2019 Nov;27(11):1578-1589. doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2019.06.011. Epub 2019 Jul 3.

    PMID: 31278997BACKGROUND
  • Altman RD, Devji T, Bhandari M, Fierlinger A, Niazi F, Christensen R. Clinical benefit of intra-articular saline as a comparator in clinical trials of knee osteoarthritis treatments: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2016 Oct;46(2):151-159. doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2016.04.003. Epub 2016 Apr 27.

    PMID: 27238876BACKGROUND
  • Patel S, Dhillon MS, Aggarwal S, Marwaha N, Jain A. Treatment with platelet-rich plasma is more effective than placebo for knee osteoarthritis: a prospective, double-blind, randomized trial. Am J Sports Med. 2013 Feb;41(2):356-64. doi: 10.1177/0363546512471299. Epub 2013 Jan 8.

    PMID: 23299850BACKGROUND
  • Bellamy N, Campbell J, Robinson V, Gee T, Bourne R, Wells G. Intraarticular corticosteroid for treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006 Apr 19;(2):CD005328. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD005328.pub2.

    PMID: 16625636BACKGROUND
  • Chavda S, Rabbani SA, Wadhwa T. Role and Effectiveness of Intra-articular Injection of Hyaluronic Acid in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review. Cureus. 2022 Apr 26;14(4):e24503. doi: 10.7759/cureus.24503. eCollection 2022 Apr.

    PMID: 35651409BACKGROUND
  • Bhandari M, Bannuru RR, Babins EM, Martel-Pelletier J, Khan M, Raynauld JP, Frankovich R, Mcleod D, Devji T, Phillips M, Schemitsch EH, Pelletier JP. Intra-articular hyaluronic acid in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: a Canadian evidence-based perspective. Ther Adv Musculoskelet Dis. 2017 Sep;9(9):231-246. doi: 10.1177/1759720X17729641. Epub 2017 Sep 12.

    PMID: 28932293BACKGROUND
  • Concoff A, Sancheti P, Niazi F, Shaw P, Rosen J. The efficacy of multiple versus single hyaluronic acid injections: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2017 Dec 21;18(1):542. doi: 10.1186/s12891-017-1897-2.

    PMID: 29268731BACKGROUND
  • Skou ST, Rasmussen S, Laursen MB, Rathleff MS, Arendt-Nielsen L, Simonsen O, Roos EM. The efficacy of 12 weeks non-surgical treatment for patients not eligible for total knee replacement: a randomized controlled trial with 1-year follow-up. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2015 Sep;23(9):1465-75. doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2015.04.021. Epub 2015 Apr 30.

    PMID: 25937024BACKGROUND
  • Skou ST, Roos EM, Laursen MB, Rathleff MS, Arendt-Nielsen L, Simonsen O, Rasmussen S. A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Total Knee Replacement. N Engl J Med. 2015 Oct 22;373(17):1597-606. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1505467.

    PMID: 26488691BACKGROUND
  • Zhang Z, Hu Z, Zhao D, Huang H, Liang Y, Mao B. Arthroscopic surgery is not superior to conservative treatment in knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trails. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2024 Sep 5;25(1):712. doi: 10.1186/s12891-024-07813-3.

    PMID: 39237972BACKGROUND
  • Cotter EJ, Weissman AC, Yazdi AA, Muth SA, Cole BJ. Arthroscopic Debridement of Mild and Moderate Knee Osteoarthritis Results in Clinical Improvement at Short-Term Follow-Up: A Systematic Review. Arthroscopy. 2025 Feb;41(2):377-389. doi: 10.1016/j.arthro.2024.03.016. Epub 2024 Mar 18.

    PMID: 38508289BACKGROUND
  • Petterson SC, Brite JE, Jelen ES, Wang KH, Reyes MM, Briggs KK, Plancher KD. Arthroscopic Management of Moderate-to-Severe Osteoarthritis of the Knee: A Systematic Review. JBJS Rev. 2024 Sep 19;12(9). doi: 10.2106/JBJS.RVW.24.00100. eCollection 2024 Sep 1.

    PMID: 39348469BACKGROUND
  • Turkiewicz A, Gerhardsson de Verdier M, Engstrom G, Nilsson PM, Mellstrom C, Lohmander LS, Englund M. Prevalence of knee pain and knee OA in southern Sweden and the proportion that seeks medical care. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2015 May;54(5):827-35. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keu409. Epub 2014 Oct 13.

    PMID: 25313145BACKGROUND
  • Cao F, Xu Z, Li XX, Fu ZY, Han RY, Zhang JL, Wang P, Hou S, Pan HF. Trends and cross-country inequalities in the global burden of osteoarthritis, 1990-2019: A population-based study. Ageing Res Rev. 2024 Aug;99:102382. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2024.102382. Epub 2024 Jun 23.

    PMID: 38917934BACKGROUND
  • Li XX, Cao F, Zhao CN, Ge M, Wei HF, Tang J, Xu WL, Wang S, Gao M, Wang P, Pan HF. Global burden of osteoarthritis: Prevalence and temporal trends from 1990 to 2019. Int J Rheum Dis. 2024 Aug;27(8):e15285. doi: 10.1111/1756-185X.15285.

    PMID: 39114972BACKGROUND
  • Rasmussen S, Skjoldemose E, Jorgensen NK. Intraarticular gold microparticles using hyaluronic acid as the carrier for hip osteoarthritis. A 2-year follow-up pilot study. Sci Rep. 2024 Nov 1;14(1):26249. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-77760-5.

    PMID: 39482349BACKGROUND
  • Rasmussen S, Aboo C, Skallerup J, Stensballe A. Intraarticular gold for knee osteoarthritis: An ancillary analysis of biomarkers and outcome of a pilot study. Osteoarthr Cartil Open. 2024 Aug 31;6(4):100514. doi: 10.1016/j.ocarto.2024.100514. eCollection 2024 Dec.

    PMID: 39291082BACKGROUND
  • Rasmussen S, Frederickson C, Danscher G. Inhibition of Local Inflammation by Implanted Gold: A Narrative Review of the History and Use of Gold. J Rheumatol. 2023 May;50(5):704-705. doi: 10.3899/jrheum.221150. Epub 2023 Mar 15. No abstract available.

    PMID: 36921973BACKGROUND
  • Danscher G, Rasmussen S. nanoGold and microGold inhibit autoimmune inflammation: a review. Histochem Cell Biol. 2023 Mar;159(3):225-232. doi: 10.1007/s00418-023-02182-9. Epub 2023 Mar 2.

    PMID: 36864314BACKGROUND
  • Rasmussen S, Kjaer Petersen K, Kristiansen MK, Skallerup J, Aboo C, Thomsen ME, Skjoldemose E, Jorgensen NK, Stensballe A, Arendt-Nielsen L. Gold micro-particles for knee osteoarthritis. Eur J Pain. 2022 Apr;26(4):811-824. doi: 10.1002/ejp.1909. Epub 2022 Feb 1.

    PMID: 35076138BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Osteoarthritis, Knee

Interventions

Hyaluronic AcidMethods

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

OsteoarthritisArthritisJoint DiseasesMusculoskeletal DiseasesRheumatic Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

GlycosaminoglycansPolysaccharidesCarbohydratesInvestigative Techniques

Central Study Contacts

Sten Rasmussen, M.D., M.B.A., Ph.D.

CONTACT

Allan Stensballe, cand.scient., Ph.D.

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
FACTORIAL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

September 5, 2025

First Posted

October 1, 2025

Study Start

February 1, 2026

Primary Completion

February 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2029

Last Updated

October 1, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

After the publication of the study:

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, CSR, ANALYTIC CODE
Time Frame
February 2029
More information