Intra-Articular Injection of BPC 157 for Multiple Types of Knee Pain

Lee E, Padgett B · Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine

Authors report improvement in 11 of 12 patients given BPC 157 alone and 3 of 4 given the combination, 14 of 16 overall. The measurement is a telephone survey taken 6 months to a year after the injection, in which patients were asked to recall the pain they had before it; the paper states no instrument was used for function, quality of life, stiffness or activities of daily living. No controls and no blinding.

Population

Adults aged 19 to 77 with knee pain of mixed cause, seen at the corresponding author's own Orlando practice; 17 charts reviewed, 16 reached by telephone

Intervention

A single intra-articular injection of BPC 157, 4 mg in 2 cc (alone, n=12), or BPC 157 with thymosin beta-4 at 2 mg plus 3 mg up to 4 mg plus 6 mg (n=4); chart review of 2019-2020, assessed retrospectively

Comparator

None

Limitations

Retrospective, uncontrolled, unblinded, tiny, and the outcome is recalled rather than measured. The paper also disagrees with its own table: the discussion argues a dose-response from all four patients who received the high 4 mg plus 6 mg combination improving, where the table shows one patient received that combination. Conducted at the corresponding author's own clinic, with a declaration of no conflicts of interest and no funding statement. Cannot establish efficacy.