Hosein Soleimani, Mohammad Kamalinejad, Nasroallah Moradi Kor, Seyyed Reza Najafizadeh, Mohammad Askarfarashah, Nafiseh HoseiniYekta and Seyed SedighehYousefi
Knee osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease in humans. Nowadays, due to common side effects of oral painkillers, topical medication have been attracted many attentions. According to authoritative source of Iranian traditional medicine, the aim of this study is the evaluation of the efficacy of Nerium oleander L. extract as a topical treatment of knee pain. In this study, 18 patients aged between 40 to 80 years old, who suffered from knee osteoarthritis were selected based on symptoms and radiographic findings. According to valid resources of traditional medicine, Defli plant (Nerium oleander L.) was selected and after extraction, the patients received topical gel three times a day for a total three weeks. The effect of drug was evaluated based on WOMAC questionnaire, visual analog scale(VAS) and global patient assessment (GPA). Eighteen patients with mean age of 59 years old participate in this study. According to results, patients who were treated with Defli gel for three weeks had significantly less pain and stiffness(p=0.00). Physical function improvement and total score of the questionnaire after three weeks were significant (P=0.00). VAS showed significant difference in patient who were treated with Defli gel after treatment (p=0.000).Based on GPA, the recovery rate was between 10% to 80%, and its mean value was 39%. The result of our study showed that Defli gel could be effective in treating pain, stiffness and improving the quality of life in patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis in 3 weeks. According to this preliminary study, a randomized clinical trials is recommended.
