Relationships between pain-related mediators and both synovitis and joint pain in patients with internal derangements and osteoarthritis of the temporomandibular joint.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlations between the concentrations of pain-related mediators in synovial fluid and the degree of synovitis and between the concentrations of pain-related mediators and the degree of joint pain in patients with internal derangement and osteoarthritis of the temporomandibular joint. The concentrations of substance P, serotonin, bradykinin, leukotriene B(4) (LTB(4)), and prostaglandin E(2) in SF and the degree of arthroscopic synovitis of 32 joints with internal derangement and osteoarthritis were assessed. The correlations between the concentration of each mediator and the score of arthroscopic synovitis and between the concentration of each mediator and the score of joint pain were analyzed statistically. The detection rates of substance P, serotonin, bradykinin, LTB(4), and prostaglandin E(2) were 25%, 25%, 91%, 53%, and 16%, respectively. Positive correlations were found between the concentrations of bradykinin and LTB(4) and the score of synovitis. Bradykinin in SF might be useful as an index of the degree of synovitis.