There are only a few reports regarding the use of HCQ in osteoarthritis. Indeed, there is only one report on the use of HCQ in knee osteoarthritis. Herval de Lacerda Bonfante et al.12 in a controlled, randomized, double-blind study assessed the effectiveness of HCQ on knee osteoarthritis

and concluded that although their two groups of HCQ and placebo exhibited improvement, HCQ had no superiority over the placebo in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. Bryant, Desrosier, and Carpenter13 treated Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical 8 patients with erosive hand osteoarthritis and obtained satisfactory results in 6 patients, all of whom showed improvement in a period ranging from 7 weeks to 7 months. Gianantonio Saviola et al.14 compared the efficacy of Clodronate (a bisphosphonate) with HCQ for Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical treating active erosive osteoarthritis of the hand and demonstrated

that while the former GSK1120212 probably played an efficacious role in the treatment of active erosive osteoarthritis, the latter seemed to be ineffective. Vuolteenaho et al.15 found that HCQ suppressed nitric oxide production induced by Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical IL-1 β in osteoarthritic cartilage and concluded that this drug could be useful in treating this disease. The present study was performed to investigate the effect of HCQ on mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis symptoms. The average age of our patients was less than that in the Herval de Lacerda Bonfante12 study (48 years vs. 60 years). The lower age of our patients may be due to the affliction of younger people by knee osteoarthritis Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical in Iran compared with some other countries.16,17 In contrast to the Herval de Lacerda Bonfante study, the results of our study showed statistically significant improvement in the total WOMAC score, WOMAC pain score, WOMAC stiffness score, and WOMAC function score in the patients using HCQ. Although drug side effects statistically were more frequent in the HCQ group, the symptoms were mild to moderate and Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical were improved immediately after the discontinuation of HCQ. The results of the present study showed that HCQ

improved the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis in our patients. Nevertheless, no whatever conclusion can be drawn apropos the disease-modifying action of HCQ because the focus of the study was merely on clinical changes. Larger new clinical trials are required to evaluate not only the symptoms but also the joint space if one is to demonstrate the validity of the use of HCQ as a disease-modifying drug. Conclusion HCQ conferred significant improvement in the symptoms of mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis in our patients and can, therefore, be deemed useful in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. Acknowledgment This study was supported by a research grant from the Vice Chancellor for Research, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Conflicts of Interest: None declared.
Dear Editor, Seifsafari Sh, Firoozabadi A, Ghanizadeh A, Salehi AR. A Symptom Profile Analysis of Depression in a Sample of Iranian Patients during 2011.