ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: To examine serum Insulin-like growth factor-I(IGF-I) level in patients with knee osteoarthritis(OA) and to determine the relationship between the serum level of IGF-I with pain intensity and severity of OA knee. METHODS: Serum IGF-I levels measured by standard radioimmunoassay techniques were obtained from 30 knee OA patients and 30 normal controls matched by age and gender. Pain intensity was measured by pain rating scale(PRS) and visual analogue scale (VAS). Kellgren grade also used for assessing the severity of knee OA. RESULTS: No difference was found in serum IGF-I levels between the cases and controls(cases: 279+/-128 ng/dL, controls: 282+/-113 ng/dl). There was no correlation between pain intensity and serum IGF-I levels. There is no significant association between IGF-I level and Kellgren grade. CONCLUSION: Serum IGF-I level does not decrease in knee OA. The serum IGF-I levels can not indicate pain intensity and severity of knee OA.
