July 18, 2002 Calvin Prof/Alum Release Results A cooperative
research project between Calvin College and the Spectrum Health
Flow Cytometry Laboratory has confirmed the benefits of a drug
used to treat osteoarthritis, a degenerative disease that
affects 90% of people over the age of 65. Calvin biology
professor David DeHeer and 2001 Calvin graduate Kyle Sheehan
have spent the last three years researching the reasons why a
substance called hyaluronic acid helps relieve the pain of
osteoarthritis in people who are not helped by such typical
anti-inflammatories as ibuprofen. Hyaluronic acid is injected
right into the joint, typically the knee joint, in a physician's
office and usually given once a week for five weeks. Its
benefits, reduced pain and inflamation, last anywhere from six
to nine months. But some physicians and researchers have doubted
the worth of hyaluronic acid, which has been used in Europe to
treat osteoarthritis since 1987. It's been called "goo," in not
all-together flattering terms by some re