ReviewBrain & spine2026
Associations of inflammatory biomarkers with clinical outcomes in degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis: A systematic review.
Review in Brain & spine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Inflammatory pathways have been implicated in degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), but the clinical relevance of inflammatory biomarkers is unclear. Research question: What associations exist between inflammatory biomarkers and patient-centered outcomes in degenerative LSS, and secondarily with imaging features? Material and methods: We conducted a PRISMA 2020-compliant systematic review. MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Academic Search Premier were searched from inception to July 4, 2025. We included original adult human studies of degenerative LSS reporting inflammatory biomarkers (tissue, serum/plasma, or cerebrospinal fluid [CSF]) with clinical and/or imaging outcomes. Risk of bias was assessed using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results: Of 1157 records identified (645 from databases; 512 from citation tracking), 14 studies met inclusion criteria. Biomarker-clinical outcome evidence was sparse and based on single studies: higher CSF NOx was associated with a lower postoperative recovery rate; higher serum MCP-1 with greater short-term satisfaction after epidural steroid injection; and higher serum miR-486-5p with more pain/disability and worse postoperative JOA scores. Most studies linked biomarkers to imaging severity, particularly ligamentum flavum hypertrophy and reduced dural sac cross-sectional area. Only one small study assessed both clinical and imaging outcomes: higher CSF IL-6 associated with smaller dural sac area but not pain intensity or walking distance. Discussion and conclusion: Evidence connecting inflammatory biomarkers to patient-centered outcomes in degenerative LSS is limited. Reported associations are hypothesis-generating and require confirmation in standardized, adequately powered prospective studies before clinical application.
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