Effect of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs on cartilage destruction in antigen induced arthritis in mice.

The nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, salicylate, piroxicam and tiaprofenic acid, and the steroid prednisolone were investigated in a long-term study for their potential detrimental or beneficial effects on joint cartilage in mice with antigen induced monoarthritis. Daily drug treatment over a period of 4-7.5 weeks did not affect the histological characteristics of normal joints at all. Articular chondrocyte synthetic activity was even stimulated after salicylate and tiaprofenic acid treatment, but the significance of this finding is not yet clear. Cartilage damage, caused by inflammation in the knee joint, was neither markedly deteriorated nor attenuated by these drugs. Minor antiinflammatory properties as measured by decrease in edema using 99mTc-uptake and in the change of inflammatory cells were only evident with prednisolone, piroxicam and salicylate.