Spine
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Prospective controlled study of the development of lower back pain in previously asymptomatic subjects undergoing experimental discography.
A prospective controlled longitudinal study. ⋯ Painful disc injections are poor independent predictors of subsequent LBP episodes in subjects initially without active lower back complaints. Anular disruption is a weak predictor of future LBP problems. Psychological distress and preexisting chronic pain processes are stronger predictors of LBP outcomes.
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Cross-sectional study. ⋯ This study revealed that patients with lumbar disc herniation had the asymmetry and sagittalization of facet joints, and these alterations were more evident in the taller patients.
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The purpose of the current study was to evaluate changes in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha ) and TNF-alpha receptor 1 (p55 receptor) using double fluorescent immunohistochemistry in glial and neural cells in the dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord after sciatic nerve injury in mice. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA.: TNF-alpha is a primary mediator of the inflammatory response and is primarily synthesized and released in the nervous system by macrophages and Schwann cells following peripheral nerve injury. TNF-alpha is also released from astrocytes and microglia in the central nervous system, where it plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of injury. ⋯ These data demonstrate that upregulation of glial TNF-alpha is associated with the expression of the p55 receptor on adjacent neurons. This association may have induced the expression of several cytokines and immediate early genes in dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord neurons via the TNF signaling pathway. These findings may be related to the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain.
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An analysis of pathologic changes after different degrees of cauda equina compression. ⋯ Mild cauda equina compression induces TNF-alpha expression and demyelination. Moderate and strong cauda equina compression induces TNF-alpha expression and degeneration associated with macrophage invasion. Neither demyelination nor degeneration in the cauda equina induced mechanical allodynia. Nerve lesions proximal to the dorsal root ganglion do not produce significant mechanical allodynia. Dorsal root ganglion apoptosis may be important for pain.