ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2024
Discovery of circulating blood biomarkers in patients with and without Modic changes of the lumbar spine: a preliminary analysis.
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, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Incidence and risk factors for modic changes in the lumbar spine: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- Anti-CD74 IgA is not associated with modic changes in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Article
- Modic changes and their role in vertebrogenic back pain: a literature review.Skeletal radiology · 2026Review
- Article
- Role of macrophage in intervertebral disc degeneration.Bone research · 2025Review
- Discogenic Low Back Pain: Anatomic and Pathophysiologic Characterization, Clinical Evaluation, Biomarkers, AI, and Treatment Options.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Proteomic analysis of serum in a population-based cohort did not reveal a biomarker for Modic changes.JOR spine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
20 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeThe following study aimed to determine the existence of blood biomarkers in symptomatic patients with or without lumbar Modic changes (MC).
methodsA cross-sectional sub-analyses of a prospective cohort was performed. Fasting blood samples were collected from patients with and without lumbar MC who had undergone spinal fusion or microdiscectomy. An 80-plex panel and CCL5/RANTES were used to assess preoperative plasma cytokine concentrations. Patient demographics and imaging phenotypes were also assessed.
resultsThirty-one subjects were analysed (n = 18 no MC; n = 13 MC). No significant differences were found in age, sex, body mass index, smoking and alcohol history, and surgical procedure (i.e. fusion, decompression) between the two groups (p > 0.05). Several statistically significant blood biomarkers in MC patients were identified, including elevated levels of C-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 5 (CCL5, p = 0.0006), while Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) was significantly lower (p = 0.009). Additionally, C-X-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 5 (CXCL5, p = 0.052), Pentraxin 3 (PTX3, p = 0.06) and Galectin-3 (Gal-3, p = 0.07) showed potential relevance. Moreover, MC patients exhibited significantly higher levels of disc degeneration (p = 0.0001) and displacement severity (p = 0.020). Based on multivariate analyses and controlling for disc degeneration/displacement, CCL5 (OR 1.02; 95% CI 1.002-1.033; p = 0.028) and MIF (OR 0.60; 95% CI 0.382-0.951; p = 0.030) were independently associated with MC patients.
conclusionThis "proof-of-concept" study is the first to identify specific and significantly circulating blood biomarkers associated with symptomatic patients with lumbar MC, independent of disc alterations of degeneration and/or bulges/herniations. Specifically, differences in CCL5 and MIF protein levels were significantly noted in MC patients compared to those without MC.
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Registered trials
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