Trial reportArthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.)2025
Efficacy of a Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitor in Chronic Low-Back Pain With Modic Type 1 Changes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Myokine Signaling in Sarcopenia-Associated Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review of Inflammatory Mechanisms.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Pamidronate is ineffective for inflammatory-like low back pain associated with Modic type 1 changes: A double-blind, randomised controlled trial.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2026Article
- Association between MRI findings and inflammatory symptoms in non-specific chronic low back pain.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 · 2025Article
- Targeting Inflammatory Pathways in Chronic Low Back Pain: Opportunities for Novel Therapeutics.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Modic Changes and Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibition: Is the Door Shut?Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
22 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThe efficacy of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors for treating chronic low-back pain with Modic changes is uncertain. This study investigated the superiority of infliximab over placebo in patients with Modic type 1 changes.
methodsIn this multicenter, randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled trial, patients aged 18 to 65 years with moderate to severe chronic low-back pain and Modic type 1 changes were enrolled from five Norwegian public hospitals between January 2019 and October 2022. Participants were randomly assigned to four intravenous infusions of 5 mg/kg infliximab or placebo. The primary outcome was difference in change in the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score from baseline to five months. Secondary outcomes included changes in low-back pain intensity, disability, and health-related quality of life. A linear mixed model was used for efficacy analyses.
resultsA total of 128 patients (mean age 43 years, 65.6% women) participated (64 in each group). All patients who received at least one dose of the allocated infusion were included in the primary analyses. The average ODI score (±SD) change was -7.0 (±9.7) in the group who received infliximab and -6.4 (±10.4) in the group who received placebo. The difference in the ODI score change between the two groups was 1.3 ODI points (95% confidence interval -2.1 to 4.6, P = 0.45). Analyses showed no effect of infliximab compared to placebo on secondary outcomes. Adverse event rates were similar between groups.
conclusionInfliximab did not demonstrate superiority over placebo in reducing pain-related disability in patients with moderate to severe chronic low-back pain with Modic type 1 changes at five months.
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