Abstract
We aimed to compare serum biomarkers of inflammation, redox status and cartilage degradation between chronic low back pain (cLBP) patients with and without Modic 1 changes. We used a convenience sample of patients recruited from a single center, case-control study, conducted in a tertiary care center. From December, 2014 to May, 2016, 2,292 patients were consecutively screened, 34 met inclusion criteria and were prospectively enrolled in the present study. Cases (n = 13) were defined as patients with Modic 1 changes detected on MRI and controls (n = 21) as cLBP patients without (Modic 0). To assess serum biomarkers of inflammation, redox status and cartilage degradation, fasting serum samples were collected in a standardized manner and analyzed by immunoassays and spectrophotometry. Mean (95% CI) age was 44.1 (40.0–48.1) years and mean LBP duration was 72.5 (53.0–91.9) months. Serum biomarkers of inflammation (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α), redox status (total thiols, advanced oxidation protein products and carbonyl groups) and cartilage degradation (Coll2-1 and Coll2-1NO2) did not differ between cLBP patients with and without Modic 1 changes. In summary, we did not find any differences in serum biomarkers between cLBP patients with and without Modic 1 changes. Interpretation is limited by convenience sampling and small sample size.
Highlights
Non-specific chronic low back pain is a common symptom
We hypothesized that along with inflammation, other elementary molecular pathways including redox status and cartilage degradation may be activated in patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP) and active discopathy, and aimed to compare serum biomarkers of interest between cLBP patients with and without active discopathy
We did not find any differences in serum biomarkers of inflammation, redox status and cartilage degradation between cLBP patients with and without active discopathy
Summary
Non-specific chronic low back pain (cLBP) is a common symptom. It is the leading cause of life years lived with disability in the world[1]. In a subset of chronic LBP patients, Modic 1 changes on MRI are associated with clinical[3,4] and laboratory signs[4]. This condition is refered as active discopathy[5,6]. Targeting local inflammation with intradiscal anti-inflammatory drugs have positive effects on pain at short term[7,8,9]. These observations suggest that local inflammation could explain in part active discopathy-related symptoms. We hypothesized that along with inflammation, other elementary molecular pathways including redox status and cartilage degradation may be activated in patients with cLBP and active discopathy, and aimed to compare serum biomarkers of interest between cLBP patients with and without active discopathy
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