Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41064476›Full record

ArticleJOR spine2025

Age and Spinal Level as Predictors of Lumbar Disc Degeneration in Humans and Mice: A Comparative Analysis.

Ravij Mehta, Sarthak Mohanty, Andrew Parker Hallmark, Veeraj Shah, Tom Ross, Eric A Bogner, Tejbir S Pannu, Mathieu Bannwarth, Sohrab Virk, Sravisht Iyer and 10 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JOR spine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

20 authors.

Ravij MehtaHospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Sarthak MohantyHospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Andrew Parker HallmarkHospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7379-0360
Veeraj ShahHospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Tom RossSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Eric A BognerSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Tejbir S PannuSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Mathieu BannwarthSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Sohrab VirkSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Sravisht IyerSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
James C FarmerSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Russel C HuangSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Darren R LeblSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Bernard A RawlinsSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Harvinder S SandhuSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Han Jo KimSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Matthew E CunninghamSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Sheeraz QureshiSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Todd J AlbertSpine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.
Chitra L DahiaHospital for Special Surgery New York City New York USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3683-9791

Funding

Role of Developmental Signaling Pathways in Maintenance of Spinal DiscsR01AG070079 · NIA · HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY · PI Chitra L Dahia · 2021 to 2026
$3.3M
Role of Shh/Brachyury axis in the maintenance of the postnatal intervertebral discR01AR077145 · NIAMS · HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY · PI DAHIA, CHITRA L · 2021 to 2025
$3.0M
Fluorescent StereomicroscopeS10OD026763 · OD · HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY · PI DAHIA, CHITRA L · 2019 to 2019
$60k
NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR077145NIA NIH HHS R01 AG070079NIH HHS S10 OD026763
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Aging is a major risk factor for IVD degeneration and chronic lower back pain. Comparing degenerative patterns in human and mice, a commonly used pre-clinical model, is crucial for validating it in preclinical mechanistic research. The goal of the study was to compare the effect of age and spine level on degeneration in human and mouse lumbar IVDs. Methods: T2-weighted MRI images of human lumbar spine were graded using the Pfirrmann system. H&E-stained mid-coronal sections of mouse lumbar IVDs were scored using the Melgoza and Chenna system. Age, gender, IVD level, and lumbar IVD degeneration scores, respectively, were used for statistical analysis in each species. Linear regression and one-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey analysis were used to compare regression slopes and intercepts. Age conversion from mouse to human was performed according to the Jackson Laboratory's outline of mouse age and its human equivalents. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to model continuous degeneration scores, accounting for intra-subject correlation due to multiple IVD levels per subject. Main effects included sex, IVD level (L1-S1), and age, with an interaction term assessing the impact of age across levels. An autoregressive correlation structure was specified. Results: Age significantly correlated with IVD degeneration in humans ( Conclusions: Age and spinal IVD level influence lumbar IVD degeneration in both human and mice with a higher rate of degeneration at the lumbosacral junction in both species. These findings suggest that mice are a suitable model for studying the cellular and molecular basis of IVD degeneration and associated neurological symptoms, with the L6-S1 level being the most relevant.

Indexed as

correlationhistopathologyhumanintervertebral disc degenerationmouseMRIaging

Identifiers

PMID41064476
PMCPMC12502902

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.