Vitamin D and osteoarthritis

The attention of researchers and clinicians is drawn to vitamin D. It is a steroid hormone with a pluripotent mechanism of action, the targets of which, along with other organs and tissues, are articular cartilage and bone tissue. The aim of the review is to analyze and summarize the data about vitamin D effect on joint cartilage, to evaluate its role in the development of osteoarthritis and the possibility of correcting structural and functional disorders of the joints. The review provides general information about vitamin D, analyzes the risk factors for vitamin D deficiency in the body, as well as provides information on the development of various pathologies against this background. The data of studies on the effect of vitamin D on normal articular cartilage and experimentally induced arthritis are summarized. The analysis of data on the polymorphism of vitamin D receptor genes and their correlation with the development of osteoarthritis is carried out. Data on the relationship between clinical and X-ray indices in patients with osteoarthritis and vitamin D deficiency are presented. The literature data are evaluated on the results of treatment of patients with osteoarthritis when vitamin D is included into the treatment regimens under the conditions of deficiency or insufficiency. Based on the lite­rature data analysis, the current scientific research trends in the field of studying the mechanisms of vitamin D effect on normal articular cartilage homeostasis and with osteoarthritis are indicated