Ostearthritis is one of the most common arthritis, affecting more than 30% of aged people
world-widely. The disease is characterized by pain and stiffness of the affected joints and
is the most common cause of disability in aged people. It commonly affects knee, hip, hand
and spine joints. Diacerein is a drug developed specifically for the treatment of
osteoarthritis. It has inhibitory effects on interleukin-1 (IL-1) and metalloproteases which
are known to play key roles in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis while exerting no effect on
phospholipase A2, cyclooxygenase or lipoxygenase. It showed anti-inflammatory effects on
animal models and reduced structural changes in several animal models. Therefore, we
investigate the role of diacerein in patients with hand osteoarthritis.