CORRELATION BETWEEN CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF OSTEOARTHRITIS AND FLUCTUATING BLOOD LEVELS OF INTERLEUKIN 6
Objective — to evaluate associations between fluctuating interleukin 6 (IL6) levels and clinical manifestations of osteoarthritis (OA). Material and methods. Totally 81 patients aged 47—73 y.o. with OA diagnosis, meeting ACR criteria, were evaluated. Anthropometric measurements, duration of the disease, degree of functional disability, IL6 levels and joints radiographs were assessed in all patients. Correlation between different IL6 secretion levels and the severity of OA clinical course and of pain syndrome was also analyzed. Results and discussion. Elevated IL6 levels were associated with more pronounced radiographic structural damage, greater degree of functional disability, presence of synovitis and more severe pain syndrome. Therefore, elevated IL6 levels are associated with unfavorable clinical course of OA.