A two-year study among patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) showed that steroid injections for knee pain were no more effective than saline injections and actually reduced cartilage volume more than placebo. The study, conducted at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, looked at progression of cartilage loss and change in knee pain after treatment with placebo…
I read with interest Dr. Fox’s perspective in the June issue of The Rheumatologist [TR] regarding ghost writing in medical research. Dr. Fox is all for integrity in research (who isn’t?); nevertheless, he takes to task some of the people (Ross et al and the editors of the Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA]) who write about the corrupting influence of industry on physicians, including those in academics [JAMA 2008;299(15):1800-1812]. Part of his motivation may be to defend members of ACR who have been involved in the activity of ghostwriting and guest editing. This approach may play well to readers of The Rheumatologist, but it would seem that Dr. Fox should address his concerns to the editors of JAMA. That way, the authors of the article could offer a rebuttal to Dr. Fox’s concerns and assertions, and we all could get closer to the truth about this important issue.