Purpose
Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is a multifactorial degenerative disease typically defined as the ‘wear and tear’ of articular joint cartilage. However, recent studies suggest that OA is a disease arising from chronic low-grade inflammation. We conducted a study to investigate the relationship between chronic inflammatory mediators present in both the systemic peripheral blood system and localised inflammation in synovial fluid (SF) of OA and non-OA knees; and subsequently made direct comparative analyses to understand the mechanisms that may underpin the processes involved in OA.