Spine
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Descriptive anatomical study on ovine and human cadaveric lumbar spinal segments. ⋯ This study describes how a transpedicular approach can be used as an alternative route to deliver therapeutic agents to the disc without disruption of the AF showing the potential use of this technique in preclinical research and highlighting its clinical relevance for IVD regeneration.
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Immunohistochemistry for tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in nucleus pulposus of adolescent patients with lumbar disc herniation. ⋯ The results suggest that TNFα may play a role in adolescent patients with lumbar disc herniation. The TNFα expression may be related with disc degeneration and pain in adolescent patients with lumbar disc herniation.
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This study used retrograde neuronal tracing and immunohistochemistry to identify neurons innervating the C6-C7 facet joint and those expressing calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) of rats after painful cervical facet joint injury. ⋯ The greatest number of afferents from the C6-C7 facet joint has cell bodies in the C7 DRG, implicating this level as the most relevant for pain from this joint. In addition, peptidergic afferents seem to have an important role in facet joint-mediated pain.
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Painful behavior testing, whole-cell patch clamp recordings, and PCR analysis were served to test the influence of T-type Ca channels in spinal nerve-injured rats. ⋯ Our study first indicated the upregulation of functional T-type Ca channels in DRG neurons of different sizes and the changes in different subtypes of T-type Ca channels by spinal nerve injury. Considering the effect of blocking T-type Ca channels in painful behavior and abnormal neuronal firing in rats with nerve injury, our results suggest that T-type Ca channels are potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of spinal nerve ligation-induced neuropathic pain.
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We measured the response of the behavior and spinal glial activation to anti-nerve growth factor receptor (p75 neurotrophin receptor [p75NTR]) antibodies in the rat brachial plexus avulsion (BPA) model. ⋯ N/A.