ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2021
Low back pain scores correlate with the cytokine mRNA level in lumbar disc biopsies: a study of inflammatory markers in patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion.
Article in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Associations between preoperative biomarkers and patient-reported outcomes after single-level lumbar discectomy: a systematic review.Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong) · 2026Review
- Integrated machine learning and multi-omics analysis identifies CYP1B1 as a candidate target of orientin in intervertebral disc degeneration-associated low back pain.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Serum Interleukin-8 Levels and Their Association with Anxiety and Functional Disability in Military Personnel with Chronic Low Back Pain.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Human molecular mechanisms of discogenic low back pain: A scoping review.The journal of pain · 2025Article
- Role of macrophage in intervertebral disc degeneration.Bone research · 2025Review
- Increased Expression of Inflammatory Cytokines and Discogenic Neck Pain.Orthopaedic surgery · 2024Article
- Metalloproteases in Pain Generation and Persistence: A Possible Target?Biomolecules · 2023Review
- The expression of metalloproteinases in the lumbar disc correlates strongly with Pfirrmann MRI grades in lumbar spinal fusion patients.Brain & spine · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe molecular mechanism behind pain in degenerative disc disease (DDD) and chronic low back pain (LBP) patients is largely unknown. This present study examines the association of LBP and disability to mediators of the inflammatory cascade, as indexed by mRNA gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine markers in the intervertebral disc (IVD).
methodsBiopsies of the annulus fibrosus (AF) and the nucleus pulposes (NP) from patients with DDD undergoing 1-2 level fusion surgery at L4/L5 or L5/S1 were obtained from total of 34 patients [9 M, 25 F] with average age of 53 [32-63]. The mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in the AF and NP was analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and the expression level of these markers was correlated to the visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores (0-100) for pain and disability.
resultsWe report a statistically significant positive correlation between pain intensity (VAS score) and the expression of TNF-α in both the AF (r = 0.54, p = 0.001) and NP (r = 0.40, p = 0.02), similarly with IL-1β in AF (r = 0.37, p = 0.02) and IL-6 in NP (r = 0.40, p = 0.02). In addition, we found significant positive correlation observed between disability score (ODI) and expression of IL-6 in both AF (r = 0.36, p = 0.03) and NP (r = 0.41, p = 0.01).
conclusionWe conclude that the intensity of LBP and disability is associated with the level of inflammation in the disc.
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