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1
The 12-month sham-controlled trial found no significant between-group difference in pain improvement, but its small sample and underestimated sham response limited statistical power.
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2
With 29 patients per group, the trial could not establish equivalence, and its confidence interval remained compatible with a clinically meaningful GAE benefit.
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3
Three patients assigned to GAE had no angiographic blush and were not embolized, reducing treatment-group separation; the letter argues that adequate trials require complete multivessel embolization.
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4
The letter cites concerns about patient selection, short-term synovitis imaging, and MRI scoring reliability, including use of a single reader without reliability data.
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5
The authors conclude that the trial does not establish GAE ineffectiveness and note that more than 12 prospective randomized trials involving over 1700 patients are underway.
