Abstract
To study the effect of intradiscal injection of simvastatin on discogenic pain in rats and its possible mechanism, 30 adult female rats were used in this experiment. Twenty rats were randomly divided into sham operation group (Control group), intervertebral disk degeneration group (DDD group), intervertebral disk degeneration + hydrogel group (DDD + GEL group), and intervertebral disk degeneration + simvastatin group (DDD + SIM group). The mechanical pain threshold and cold sensation in rats were measured. The contents of NF-kappa B1, RelA, GAP43, SP, CGRP, TRPM 8, IL-1β, and TNF-α in the intervertebral disk (IVD), the corresponding contents of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and plantar skin GAP43 and TRPM 8 were quantitatively detected by PCR. The corresponding IVDs were stained to detect their degeneration. There was no significant difference in the mechanical pain threshold between the groups at each time point. From the first day to the 8th week after surgery, the cold-sensing response of the DDD group was significantly higher than that of the Control group (P < 0.05). At 7 and 8 weeks postoperatively, the cold-sensing response of the DDD + SIM group was significantly lower than that of the DDD + GEL group (P < 0.05). The levels of NF-κB1, RelA, GAP43, SP, CGRP, TRPM8, IL-1β, and TNF-α in the IVD of DDD + SIM group were significantly lower than those in DDD group (P < 0.05). The content of GAP43 and TRPM8 in rat plantar skin decreased significantly and TRPM8 in DRG decreased significantly (P < 0.05).
Highlights
Lower back pain (LBP) is a common musculoskeletal disease and one of the main causes of disability worldwide (Murray et al, 2013)
Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining showed that the annulus fibrosus tissue of the intervertebral disk (IVD) was disorderly arranged after acupuncture, and the number of nucleus pulposus cells and annulus fibroblasts decreased (Figures 2A,D)
Alcin Blue staining shows that the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus of the IVD are stained blue after acupuncture (Figures 2C,F)
Summary
Lower back pain (LBP) is a common musculoskeletal disease and one of the main causes of disability worldwide (Murray et al, 2013). The most commonly used treatment methods for DLBP include conservative treatment (physical therapy and oral anti-inflammatory drugs, etc.), minimally invasive interventional techniques (epidural injections and radiofrequency ablation techniques, etc.) to conventional surgical treatment (Di Martino et al, 2013). Each of these treatment methods aims to alleviate related clinical symptoms, none of them target the specific underlying pathophysiology itself or reverse its degeneration process. With the emergence of recombinant therapeutic proteins (Masuda, 2008), people began to advocate bioremediation or regeneration of degenerative IVD. This new type of treatment seems promising because it helps synthesize the matrix molecules that make up the IVD structure, and may help prevent matrix degradation and/or cell death, thereby preventing the progression of IVD degeneration
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
