Associations between proinflammatory cytokines in the synovial fluid and radiographic grading and pain-related scores in 47 consecutive patients with osteoarthritis of the knee

BACKGROUND: One of the sources of knee pain in osteoarthritis (OA) is believed to be related to local chronic inflammation of the knee joints, which involves the production of inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), interleukin (IL)-6, and nerve growth factor (NGF) in the synovial membrane, and these cytokines are believed to promote pathological OA. In the present study…