Arizona Pain Specialists Contend Recent Vertebroplasty Studies Are Misleading

Studies Actually Show It Is Effective at Reducing Pain
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(Business Wire)--
Two studies released today in the New England Journal of Medicine claim to
demonstrate that vertebroplasty, a procedure to treat some painful spine
fractures, is not effective. This is incorrect, as both studies actually
demonstrate a significant improvement in patients' pain and ability to function
normally.

Tory McJunkin, MD, co-founder of Arizona Pain Specialists, has a personal
connection because his grandmother recently had the procedure performed with a
life-changing, pain-relieving outcome. Dr. McJunkin explains that "Clinical data
show that this procedure relieves pain and improves patients' quality of life. I
have seen amazing results from vertebroplasty in my practice and for my
grandmother."

Allen Burton, MD, Professor of Anesthesiology at MD Anderson in Houston, one of
the foremost experts on vertebroplasty, stated, "The conclusion that
vertebroplasty does not help back pain is completely wrong. If you look closely
at the study design, what they are calling a placebo is actually a facet
injection."

"These studies actually show that both treatments are effective," said Paul
Lynch, MD, co-founder of Arizona Pain Specialists. "The studies did not use a
true control group condition, where patients would receive no treatment. The
'control' patients actually received a different effective treatment and both
groups demonstrated highly clinically significant reductions in pain. This
demonstrates that vertebroplasty is an effective procedure, although facet
injections are also effective."

Pain is often measured on a 0 to 10 scale, with higher numbers indicating
greater pain. The studies demonstrate that patients who received the
vertebroplasty procedure had reductions in pain of 2.3 and 3.0 points in the two
studies, compared to reductions of 1.7 and 2.6 for the facet injection
procedure.

Dr. McJunkin said, "Note that patients who received the vertebroplasty procedure
had greater reductions in pain, although this was not a statistically
significant difference."

To demonstrate statistical differences between groups requires that the study
have enough patients for the statistics to have sufficient power to detect the
differences. Both studies reported that they were unable to enroll enough
patients to have reasonable statistical power. One study noted that they needed
250 patients but only enrolled 131. "The trends in the data demonstrate that if
the studies had enough patients, the group receiving vertebroplasty would have
had significantly better pain reduction than the other treatment groups," noted
Dr. Lynch.

Several large studies have examined and concluded the clinical benefit and
efficacy of vertebroplasty for painful vertebral compression fractures. In 2006,
Spine Journal released a systematic review of all available data showing 87%
relief of pain with vertebroplasty. A 2007 study in the American Journal of
Neuroradiology concluded that "Percutaneous Vertebroplasty is a safe & effective
method to treat VCF. An immediate improvement in pain is expected for most
patients, and disability, mobility, and pain medication use are improved during
the short- and long-term periods."

Dr. Lynch agrees with this overall assessment. "Vertebroplasty is only one of
several effective treatments, but for some patients it is the best option. These
studies, like most studies, have several problems. It would be inappropriate for
us to conclude that vertebroplasty is ineffective, as some reports have stated,"
he concludes.

About Arizona Pain Specialists

Arizona Pain Specialists was co-founded by Dr. Paul Lynch and Dr. Tory McJunkin
in Scottsdale, AZ. The clinic utilizes a comprehensive model including
cutting-edge interventional pain treatments, chiropractic, biofeedback,
relaxation therapy and features on-site physio-rehab, an open MRI, procedure
center and research department. The clinic`s website, www.ArizonaPain.com, hosts
an online textbook resource and receives more than 35,000 views a month.

Arizona Pain Specialists
Paul Lynch, MD, and Tory McJunkin, MD
480-563-6400

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