Task: Question Answering
Input (English): Context: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative and progressive articular cartilage disease. Infiltration of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been proposed as a therapeutic alternative due to the content of biologically active cytokines in PRP. We aimed to compare the clinical response of acetaminophen and intra-articular leukocyte-poor PRP (LP-PRP) in early knee OA.', 'A total of 65 patients with clinically and radiographically documented knee OA (grade 1-2) were analyzed. Patients were randomized into two groups: 32 were treated with acetaminophen (500\xa0mg/8\xa0h) over 6\xa0weeks, and 33 received three intra-articular injections of autologous LP-PRP (once every 2\xa0weeks). All patients were evaluated by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) score, and the SF-12 health survey at baseline and 6, 12, and 24\xa0weeks of follow-up. All LP-PRP preparations were analyzed for the platelet, leukocyte, IL-1ra, and TGF-β concentrations.', 'The decrease in the VAS pain level in the LP-PRP group was greater than that in the acetaminophen group (p\xa0<\xa00.05). Patients treated with LP-PRP showed a sustained improvement in knee function at week 24 (p\xa0<\xa00.01). The SF-12 results only indicated an improvement in quality-of-life in the LP-PRP group at 6, 12, and 24\xa0weeks of follow-up (p\xa0<\xa00.01). Both IL-1ra and TGF-β were detected in the LP-PRP samples (313.8\xa0±\xa0231.6 and 21,183.8\xa0±\xa08556.3\xa0pg/mL, respectively).\Question: Is leukocyte-poor platelet-rich plasma more effective than the conventional therapy with acetaminophen for the treatment of early knee osteoarthritis?
Output (English): Treatment with LP-PRP injections resulted in a significantly better clinical outcome than did treatment with acetaminophen, with sustained lower EVA and WOMAC scores and improvement in quality-of-life (higher SF-12 score). Therapy with LP-PRP may positively modify the inflammatory joint environment by counteracting IL-1β action.