Adipokines and Osteoarthritis

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis is a prevalent disabling disease\ud linked to obesity. The research community has been active in trying\ud to understand why obesity increases the disability associated with\ud hand osteoarthritis. One area of research is that of the adipokines.\ud QUESTION: Do one or more adipokines, influence the incidence\ud or severity of hand osteoarthritis in obese patients?\ud METHODS: All relevant publications in the leading electronic\ud databases were searched using the key terms adipokines and\ud osteoarthritis. There were 205 listings, but here only 69 are\ud examined and discussed. The articles had to be linked in some way\ud to the key question driving the research.\ud RESULTS: The literature is very tentative at present regarding a\ud definitive role of any adipokine in the osteoarthritic disease process\ud as this affects obese patients in general, and hand osteoarthritis in\ud particular. Both anabolic and catabolic effects are shown with all the\ud derivatives studied, with no consensus emerging.\ud CONCLUSION: While adipokines may aggravate osteoarthritic\ud processes among obese adults with hand osteoarthritis, more\ud research is needed to translate present findings into prevention or\ud treatment measures. This novel review provides a sound basis for\ud examining adipokines in the specific context of non-erosive arthritis,\ud and especially hand osteoarthritis