Androgen conversion in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis synoviocytes – androstenedione and testosterone inhibit estrogen formation and favor production of more potent 5α-reduced androgens

Table 1 Characteristics of patients under study

	Osteoarthritis	Rheumatoid arthritis
n	26	25
Age, years	71 ± 2 [55–88]	66 ± 2 [39–84]
Gender, F/M	21/5 (81/19)	19/6 (76/24)
Disease duration, years^§	5 ± 1	10 ± 1
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mm/1st hr	16.6 ± 3.2	35.2 ± 7.2**
C-reactive protein, mg/l	6.6 ± 0.9	26.3 ± 7.5^#
Rheumatoid factor positive	1/26 (0.5)	12/25 (48.0)
Lining layer, cells	2.1 ± 0.1	3.9 ± 0.3^##
Cell density, cells/mm²	1257 ± 121	1864 ± 202**
T cell density, cells/mm²	22.2 ± 4.7	58.8 ± 20.1
CD163⁺ macrophage density, cells/mm²	54.7 ± 10.1	101.3 ± 20.5*
Vascularity, vessels/mm²	28.8 ± 2.9	31.1 ± 3.7
Medication
Prednisolone	n.a.	19 (76.0)
Mean prednisolone dose, mg/d	n.a.	5.2 ± 0.9
NSAIDs	14/26 (54.0)	20/25 (80.0)
Methotrexate	n.a.	4/25 (16.0)
Leflunomide	n.a.	8/25 (32.0)
Azathioprine	n.a.	1/25 (4.0)
Sulfasalazine	n.a.	1/25 (4.0)
Hydroxychloroquine	n.a.	4/25 (16.0)
Cyclosporin A	n.a.	1/25 (4.0)
Anti-TNF therapy strategies	n.a.	0/25 (0.0)

*p = 0.065, **p < 0.05, ^#p < 0.01, ^##p < 0.001 for the comparison versus osteoarthritic patients. ^§Disease duration in OA patients is a rough estimate because the exact starting point is often not precisely known. Data are given as means ± SEM, percentages in parentheses, and ranges in square brackets. F/M, female/male; n.a., not applicable; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; TNF, tumor necrosis factor.

ISSN: 1478-6362