Lowering oxidative stress around knee replacement to reduce long-term pain
Official title: Reducing Perioperative Oxidative Stress to Prevent Postoperative Chronic Pain Following Total Knee Arthroplasty
Funded at Vanderbilt University Medical Center · NIH-11171771 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This trial gives an antioxidant medicine around the time of knee replacement to help reduce long-term pain for people having total knee arthroplasty.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $2,526,074 |
| NIH project number | 4RF1AG085287-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11171771 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults scheduled for primary total knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis who can attend surgery and follow-up visits at the study center.
✕Less likely to help
People not undergoing primary elective knee replacement, those with conditions that make antioxidant treatment unsafe, or those unable to attend follow-up visits are unlikely to benefit from participation.
What this research studies
You would be randomly assigned to receive an antioxidant medicine or a placebo before and during your knee replacement surgery. Researchers will collect blood samples to measure oxidative stress markers and track pain and function before surgery and for months afterward. The trial compares long-term pain levels and recovery between the antioxidant and placebo groups. The goal is to see whether lowering oxidative stress around surgery leads to less chronic pain and better function after TKA.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could lower the chance of persistent pain after knee replacement and improve recovery and quality of life for patients.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier observational work linked higher perioperative oxidative stress to worse post-TKA pain, but this is the first randomized placebo-controlled trial testing perioperative antioxidant treatment.
Where this research is happening
-
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bruehl, Stephen — Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Bruehl, Stephen
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.