Osteoarthritis is a chronic and potentially debilitating disease involving the disruption of metabolic homeostasis within the articular chondrocyte. Specifically, osteoarthritis involves an increased ratio of cartilage-degrading enzymes (matrix metalloproteinases, or MMPs) to their normal inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). It is the imbalance of TIMPs and MMPs that contributes to the pathologic breakdown of cartilage. Dietary fatty acids can help to correct this imbalance by modulating the production of inflammatory mediators.
