Journal of neurosurgical anesthesiology
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J Neurosurg Anesthesiol
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J Neurosurg Anesthesiol · Oct 2011
Intervertebral disc degeneration-induced expression of pain-related molecules: glial cell-derived neurotropic factor as a key factor.
Discogenic low back pain has been shown to develop into chronic intractable pain due to an unknown pathogenesis. To study the mechanism of discogenic pain, we analyzed the serial expression of pain-related molecules in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and thalamus using a newly developed rat model of disc degeneration. ⋯ The disc degeneration rat model described herein led to significant pain of a chronic nature. The gradual and persistent increase of GDNF in both the thalamus and DRG suggests that GDNF might be a key factor in the development of intractable, chronic discogenic pain.