TNF and osteoarthritis: As has been shown in several previous studies, the macroscopic, histological, and histochemical evaluation of cartilage tissue in our study showed that statins are effective in inhibiting the development of osteoarthritic changes, which is thought to be related to the suprression of the release of these stimulating cytokines (IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α) which play a role in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis and which activate matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and at the same time reduce the rate of cell death (apoptosis).