c-peptide and Osteoarthritis

A hundred and seventy-nine patients with osteoarthrosis (OA) (mean age 50.48+/-5.81 years) were examined for metabolic syndrome (MS) from the International Diabetic Federation (IDF) criteria in the groups with normal and increased fasting C-peptide levels. The blood level of immunoreactive insulin was determined and the insulin resistance indices (Cari, HOMA-IR, ISI, and QUICKI) were calculated. The results were analyzed using the correlation analysis and methods of multivariate statistics. HyperC-peptidemia was found in 84.36% of patients with OA, hyperinsulinemia in 82.12%. As C-peptidemia increased, metabolic disturbances progressed in terms of levels and absolute values. At the same time four fifths of the OA patients with normal laboratory C-peptide levels were diagnosed as having MS from the 2005 IDF criteria. The level of C-peptide and the HOMA-IR and QUICKI indices were more closely correlated with the severity of polyosteoarthritis than insulin. The relationship of insulin resistance to the course of osteoarthritis has been confirmed. It is suggested that hyperC-peptidemia and hyperinsulinemia shows an inflammation-adaptive role in the pathogenesis of OA, the latter associated with obesity in particular.

Topics: C-Peptide; Female; Humans; Insulin; Insulin Resistance; Male; Middle Aged; Osteoarthritis

Hormones other than adrenal and gonadal steroids may play also a significant role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of selected peptide hormones and histamine in synovial fluid of knee joints and in plasma of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and with osteoarthrosis.. The concentrations of insulin, C-peptide, prolactin, growth hormone, free triiodothyronine (FT3), thyrotropin (TSH), and histamine were determined in synovial fluid and plasma of 27 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in 12 patients with osteoarthrosis (OA).. The presence of peptide hormones in synovial fluid was demonstrated. The levels of TSH and growth hormone were lower in synovial fluid than in plasma in both groups, while those of prolactin were comparable in synovial fluid and in plasma. The levels of C-peptide (p < 0.05), insulin and FT3 were higher in synovial fluid than in plasma of OA patients, but lower in synovial fluid of RA patients as compared to their levels in plasma. Significant positive correlations between the levels in plasma and synovial fluid were observed in prolactin (p < 0.001, r = 0.741) and TSH (p < 0.05, r = 0.88) only. After age adjustment, no significant differences in synovial fluid and in plasma levels of all hormones were found between OA and RA patients. The levels of histamine in plasma were similar in RA and OA patients, in synovial fluid of both groups histamine was found in almost undetectable amounts.. The selected peptide hormones, e.g. insulin, C-peptide, prolactin, growth hormone, FT3 and TSH, are present in synovial fluid of RA and OA patients, some of them in the concentrations comparable to these in plasma. The role of the locally present hormones in pathogenesis of RA has to be investigated in further studies and analyses.

Topics: Arthritis, Rheumatoid; C-Peptide; Female; Histamine; Human Growth Hormone; Humans; Insulin; Knee Joint; Male; Middle Aged; Osteoarthritis; Peptide Hormones; Prolactin; Synovial Fluid; Thyrotropin; Triiodothyronine