Relevance. Microelementosis (imbalance in the body of certain microelements — ME) is considered as one of the most important clinical and pathogenetic components of degenerative and inflammatory joint diseases, and ME can play the role of co-factors involved in the processes of articular inflammation. The objective: to study the levels in the blood serum and to assess the clinical and pathogenetic significance of osteoassociated ME (cobalt — Co, copper — Cu, iron — Fe, litium — Li, manganese — Mn, lead — Pb, strontium — Sr, zinc — Zn) in a variety of arthritis — rheumatoid (RA), Chlamydia-induced urogenital reactive arthritis (ReA), psoriatic (PsA), gouty (GA) and osteoarthritis (OA). Material and methods. There were 262 patients under observation, among them 89 persons suffering from RA, 31 — ReA, 35 — PsA, 49 — GA and 58 — OA. The distribution of males and females in these groups were 1 : 2, 2 : 1, 1 : 1, 11 : 1, 1 : 3, respectively, the average age of the patients was 47, 34, 42, 48 and 58 years, and the duration of clinical manifestations of the disease — 10, 4, 11, 7 and 12 years. ME in the blood serum were studied using atomic absorption spectrometer with electrographite atomizer SolAAr-Mk2-MOZe. Results. Microelementosis in arthritis is manifested by increased blood concentrations of toxic Li, Pb and Sr, moreover, the feature of ReA is a normal ferremia level, PsA — hyperkupremia, and OA — hypozincemia. Microelement blood composition depends on the activity, clinical and laboratory signs of disease, the prevalence of articular process, aggravation of bone destructive changes in the joints (subchondral sclerosis, osteocystosis, bone erosions, epiphyseal osteoporosis, etc), the presence of systemic osteoporosis, spondylopathies (osteochondrosis, spondyloarthrosis) and extra-articular manifestations of arthritis (lesions of the skin, muscles, peripheral nervous system, lymph nodes, internal organs). Blood indexes of Co, Cu, Li, Mn, Pb, Sn and Zn in RA, PsA and GA may have a certain prognostic value. Conclusions. In all the studied joint diseases, there is the disturbance of microelemental blood composition, which is involved in the pathogenetic development of RA, ReA, PsA, GA, OA and determines their clinical course, and in the future it will be possible to apply more rational medical technology for the diagnosis and treatment of joint diseases, to develop medications to correct microelementosis, to improve the quality of predicting the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions.

Afridi H.I. Estimation of toxic elements in the samples of different cigarettes and their effect on the essential elemental status in the biological samples of Irish smoker rheumatoid arthritis consumers / H.I. Afridi, F.N. Talpur, T.G. Kazi, D. Brabazon // Environ Monit. Assess. — 2015. — Vol. 187, № 4. — P. 157-167.

Aleshko-Ozhevski I.P. The homeostatic changes of mi-neral and trace elements during of year at rheumatoid arthritis / I.P. Aleshko-Ozhevski, K.K. Sharafetdinov, A.V. Pogozheva, L.V. Sheviakova // Vopr. Pitan. — 2016. — Vol. 75, № 3. — P. 9-14.

Bonaventura P. Zinc and its role in immunity and inflammation / P. Bonaventura, G. Benedetti, F. Albarède, P. Miossec // Autoimmun. Rev. — 2015. — Vol. 14, № 4. — P. 277-285.

Chakraborty M. Serum copper as a marker of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis / M. Chakraborty, H. Chutia, R. Changkakati // J. Clin. Diagn. Res. — 2015. — Vol. 9, № 12. — P. 9-11.

Collins-Racie L.A. Global analysis of nuclear receptor expression and dysregulation in human osteoarthritic articular cartilage: reduced LXR signaling contributes to catabolic metabolism typical of osteoarthritis / L.A. Collins-Racie, Z. Yang, M. Arai et al. // Osteoarthritis Cartilage. — 2009. — Vol. 17, № 7. — P. 832-842.

Colotti G. Metals and metal derivatives in medicine / G. Colotti, A. Ilari, A. Boffi, V. Morea // Mini Rev. Med. Chem. — 2013. — Vol. 13, № 2. — P. 211-221.

Dilandro G. May biscuits contribute to iron balance? An observation in children with juvenile idiopatic arthritis / G. Dilandro, V. De Cosmi, F. Corona et al. // Int. J. Food. Sci. Nutr. — 2015. — Vol. 66, № 7. — P. 811-814.

Glossop J.R. Anemia in rheumatoid arthritis: association with polymorphism in the tumor necrosis factor receptor I and II genes / J.R. Glossop, P.T. Dawes, A.B. Hassell, D.L. Mattey // J. Rheumatol. — 2015. — Vol. 32, № 9. — P. 1673-1678.

Hapeta B. Metabolism and protein transformations in synovial membrane of a knee joint in the course of rheumatoid arthritis and degenerative arthritis / B. Hapeta, B. Koczy, A. Fitowska et al. // Pol. Orthop. Traumatol. — 2012. — Vol. 23, № 77. — P. 53-58.

Kiran M. Adverse reactions to metal debris in metal-on-polyethylene total hip arthroplasty using a titanium-molybdenum-zirconium-iron alloy stem / M. Kiran, P.J. Boscainos // J. Arthroplasty. — 2015. — Vol. 30, № 2. — P. 277-281.

Li J. Effects of B-lymphocyte dysfunction on the serum copper, selenium and zinc levels of rheumatoid arthritis patients / J. Li, Y. Liang, H. Mao [et al.] // Pak. J. Med. Sci. — 2014. — Vol. 30, № 5. — P. 1064-1067.

Sahebari M., Ayati R., Mirzaei H., Sahebkar A., Hejazi S., Saghafi M., Saadati N., Ferns G.A., Ghayour-Mobarhan M. Serum trace element concentrations in rheumatoid arthritis // Biol. Trace Elem. Res. — 2015. — Vol. 169, № 10. — P. 52-58.

Sarban S. Relationship between synovial fluid and plasma manganese, arginase, and nitric oxide in patients with rheumatoid arthritis / S. Sarban, U.E. Isikan, Y. Kocabey, A. Kocyigit // Biol. Trace Elem. Res. — 2007. — Vol. 115, № 2. — P. 97-106.

Tekatas A. Increased frequency of restless leg syndrome in patients with ankylosing spondylitis / A. Tekatas, O.N. Pamuk // Int. J. Rheum. Dis. — 2015. — Vol. 18, № 1. — P. 58-62.

Wilson A. Prevalence and outcomes of anemia in rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review of the literature / A. Wilson, H.T. Yu, L.T. Goodnough, A.R. Nissenson // Am. J. Med. — 2014. — Vol. 116, suppl. 7. — P. 50-57.

Wright R.O. Metals and neurotoxicology / R.O. Wright, A. Baccarelli // J. Nutr. — 2007. — Vol. 137, № 12. — P. 2809-2813.

Xin L. Serum levels of copper and zinc in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a meta-analysis / L. Xin, X. Yang, G. Cai et al. // Biol. Trace Elem. Res. — 2015. — Vol. 168, № 1. — P. 1-10.

Yassin N.Z. Effect of a topical copper indomethacin gel on inflammatory parameters in a rat model of osteoarthritis / N.Z. Yassin, S.M. El-Shenawy, R.F. Abdel-Rahman et al. // Drug. Des. Devel. Ther. — 2015. — Vol. 12, № 9. — P. 1491-1498.

Yazar M. Synovial fluid and plasma selenium, copper, zinc, and iron concentrations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis / M. Yazar, S. Sarban, A. Kocyigit, U.E. Isikan // Biol. Trace Elem. Res. — 2005. — Vol. 106, № 2. — P. 123-132.

Zoeger N. Lead accumulation in tidemark of articular cartilage / N. Zoeger, P. Roschger, J. G. Hofstaetter, C. Jokubonis // Osteoarthritis Cartilage. — 2009. — Vol. 14, № 9. — P. 906-913.