Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disorder in the world. Among the mechanisms involved in osteoarthritis, biomarkers (cytokines profile) may be related to pain and pain intensity, functional capacity, and pressure pain thresholds (PPT). Thus, the study of these relationships may offer useful information about pathophysiology and associated mechanisms involved in osteoarthritis. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the seric concentration of pro (IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines in patients with painful knee osteoarthritis and to correlate the levels of these biomarkers with the patients' functional capacity and pressure pain threshold (PPT) values.

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Excessive inflammatory immune responses are a major cause of influenza morbidity and mortality. Some epidemiological studies find reduced mortality from influenza in patients on statins. This suggests that the anti-inflammatory properties of these drugs could be useful. We first tested the effect of acute administration of 100 mg/kg pravastatin i.p. per day for 3 days, starting either at 1 day prior to, 2 days after, or 6 days post infection. For all three regimens, we observed increased, not decreased, mortality compared to control groups (infection alone). We then sought to better model the epidemiologic data in which a majority of patients are taking statins before hospitalization for influenza. We used longer-term administration (10 days) prior to influenza of pravastatin or simvastatin, followed by continued therapy for 7 days after infection. Chronic statin treatment of mice suppressed early inflammatory responses measured in lung lavage at 36 hours (decreased TNF release by ~50%, and reduced protein leakage), but did not change these parameters later in the course (days 3 and 7). Long-term pretreatment with statin, continued through first week of influenza, did not result in the enhanced mortality observed with the acute treatments. The potential benefit, if any, of the early anti-inflammatory effect of statins in long-term users remains to be determined.