Does arthritis have a nutritional etiology?

Despite the recognition that degenerative cartilage disorders like OA and OCD may have nutritional abnormalities at the root of their pathogenesis, the role of nutrition in the etiology of these disorders is poorly studied (Mobasheri et al. 2002c). A huge amount of research effort and funding is focused on nutraceuticals, nutritional supplements, and naturally occurring bioactive components of foods (Goggs et al. 2005; Mobasheri et al. 2002c; Shakibaei et al. 2007a, 2007b, 2005). It is clear that balanced dietary supplementation programs have played a secondary role in the management of joint diseases. Nutritional factors such as glucose and glucose-derived sugars (i.e., glucosamine sulfate and vitamin C) are important for the development, maintenance, repair, and remodeling of cartilage, bone, and other load-bearing connective tissues. In the following sections we review the links between nutrition and joint disease in order to justify the physiological and pathophysiological relevance of our studies on glucose transporters in chondrocytes.