Ingredient found in chili peppers relieves pain
It brings tears to your eyes, fires the taste buds and creates an inferno in your stomach. Now doctors are testing the active ingredient found in hot sauce to see if it can snuff out pain in knee joints. The fiery element in this combustible condiment is called capsaicin — the very thing that gives hot peppers their kick.
Dr. Charles Birbara, a Worcester rheumatologist, recently completed a three-month study on more than 50 patients with knee problems. He says preliminary tests show that a purified form of capsaicin, called Adlea, when injected into his patients’ knees, has proven to relieve pain.
The study was conducted through the Clinical Pharmacology Study Group of Worcester. Adlea is a commercial product being developed by the California-based company, Anesiva.
Ronald Johnson, the director at Nordgren Memorial Chapel Funeral Service, 300 Lincoln St., fell off a ladder a few years ago and damaged his knees. Birbara has been treating him for the pain.
“I had the shot. The results were phenomenal,” Johnson says. “I’m a 71-year-old man. I’ve been limping for many years. There was some discomfort. Nothing terrible. After that, no pain whatsoever.
“They did a follow-up to see if I had any discomfort and I do not. I can run up the stairs now, which is the craziest thing you can imagine.” 
Birbara says the ability of capsaicin to relieve pain has been known for years, but this peppery therapy for knees is new.
Birbara says when the capsaicin is applied to the knee joint area, the nerves are overwhelmed by a burning sensation and are unable to report pain for an extended amount of time.
Birbara says the Clinical Pharmacology Study Group of Worcester put in a request to do the study and out of several sites considered around the country, they were the only ones to do the trial.
Birabar says that other physicians are now testing the medication and more studies are being done using Adlea, but it is not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“At some point this will be FDA-approved,” he adds. “I’m not sure when. These things take years to develop, but I do think that it will be another management option for people who have osteoarthritis — not only the knee, but other joints.”
Johnson says, “I was what you would call a guinea pig. It’s not an artificial drug. It’s made from chili peppers. I think the FDA might come through with it pretty quick because something like that isn’t going to cause any damage. It’s a local injection.”
