Correlation between Ankylosing Spondylitis, Osteoarthritis and Metallothionein-1

Abstract

Background: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic progressive inflammatory arthritis characterized by inflammation of axial skeleton, peripheral joints, entheses and extraarticular systems such as eyes, bowel, lungs and heart. Ankylosing Spondylitis typically begins in early adulthood (20–40 years) and it is rare above the age of 40 years and below the age of 8 years with a prevalence ranging from 0.1% to 0.8% in the adult population. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative joint disorder, wear and tear arthritis, in the elderly that often leads to joint pain and dysfunction, affecting people's quality of life. OA is usually featured by cartilage degradation, subchondral bone remolding, and synovium inflammation.