Genicular Artery Embolization Vs Observation for Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis

NCT04682652 · Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 100

Last updated 2026-04-29

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The purpose of this clinical trial is to determine whether genicular artery embolization (GAE) is an effective way to treat knee pain from osteoarthritis. Pain from arthritis is often due to underlying inflammation in the joint. The inflammation is associated with increased abnormal blood flow going to the specific area of pain. If the investigator can reduce the blood flow, the inflammation can be reduced and the pain can be controlled.

The GAE procedure is an experimental procedure to decrease the blood flow (embolize) to the specific region of the knee that is causing the pain. This will be done by infusing microscopic spheres into the specific blood vessel (genicular artery) supplying the area of pain in the knee. This is done through a procedure which is called an angiogram, which is done entirely through a pinhole at the creased of the thigh, using twilight (conscious) sedation.

The investigators have already completed an initial trial at UCLA, and shown that this procedure is safe and effective. The purpose of this new trial is to compare outcomes of people undergoing the GAE procedure to those who do not undergo the procedure. A total of 120 patients will be enrolled, and 2/3 of the patients will be randomly selected to undergo the GAE procedure. 1/3 will not undergo the procedure. This is known as a randomized trial. During the trial, all subjects will also get MRIs and fluid withdrawn from their knee joints at various timepoints in order to precisely figure out how the procedure works on a closer (microscopic) level.

Conditions

Interventions

DEVICE

Embozene MicroSpheres

Embozene is a medical device made by Boston Scientific approved in the United States for the treatment of hypervascular tumors and arteriovenous malformations. It consists of thousands of microscopic spheres that are injected into the artery in the knee going to the region of pain. One of the causes of pain in the setting of knee arthritis is increased blood flow going to the specific area of pain. The goal of this procedure is to decrease the blood flow (embolize) to the specific region of the knee that is causing your pain. This is done by infusing Embozene particles into the specific blood vessel (genicular artery) supplying the area of pain in the knee.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Principal Investigators

  • Siddharth A Padia, MD · University of California, Los Angeles

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
40 Years
Max Age
79 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-08-01
Primary Completion
2026-10-01
Completion
2027-10-01
FDA Device
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04682652 on ClinicalTrials.gov