Harvard Health Content API

A new study suggests that steroid shots may not help people with a common back pain problem. The study focused on spinal stenosis. With this condition, the open space in the spinal canal is narrowed. This squeezes nerves, causing pain. Doctors sometimes give injections of a corticosteroid to reduce swelling and inflammation. This is combined with a local anesthetic such as lidocaine to numb the area as the shot is given. The new study included 400 people with back and leg pain from spinal stenosis. They were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group received either 1 or 2 injections that contained a steroid plus lidocaine. The other group got injections of lidocaine only, without the steroid. Six weeks later, there were no differences between the groups in their levels of pain or function.

A partial transplant of bone-marrow stem cells may reverse sickle cell disease in adults, a new study finds. People with sickle cell disease have abnormally shaped red blood cells. They get stuck in blood vessels. This causes organ damage, pain and other medical problems. The new study included 30 adults with severe sickle cell disease. Each of them had a brother or sister who was a suitable match for a bone-marrow stem cell transplant. The sibling donor’s cells were mixed with some of the patient’s own cells. During 3.4 years of follow-up, the partial transplant reversed sickle cell disease in 26 out of 30 people, researchers said. In these patients, the bone marrow began making normal red blood cells. Fifteen people also were able to stop taking drugs to prevent rejection of the transplant.