Low back pain patients with Modic type 1 changes exhibit distinct bacterial and non-bacterial subtypes.

Objectives: Modic type 1 changes (MC1) are vertebral endplate bone marrow (BM) lesions observed on magnetic resonance images in sub-populations of chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients. The etiopathogenesis remains unknown and treatments that modify the underlying pathomechanisms do not exist. We hypothesized that two biological MC1 subtypes exist: a bacterial and a non-bacterial.

Modic type 2 changes are fibroinflammatory changes with complement system involvement adjacent to degenerated vertebral endplates.

Background: Vertebral endplate signal intensity changes visualized by magnetic resonance imaging termed Modic changes (MC) are highly prevalent in low back pain patients. Interconvertibility between the three MC subtypes (MC1, MC2, MC3) suggests different pathological stages. Histologically, granulation tissue, fibrosis, and bone marrow edema are signs of inflammation in MC1 and MC2.

CD90-positive stromal cells associate with inflammatory and fibrotic changes in modic changes.

Objective: Modic changes (MC) are vertebral bone marrow lesions seen on magnetic resonance images, that associate with disc degeneration and low back pain (LBP). Few studies described MC histopathology qualitatively based on a few patient samples. CD90-positive bone marrow stromal cells were shown to be pro-fibrotic in MC.

Learning how to perform ultrasound-guided interventions with and without augmented reality visualization: a randomized study.

Objectives: Augmented reality (AR), which entails overlay of in situ images onto the anatomy, may be a promising technique for assisting image-guided interventions. The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the learning experience and performance of untrained operators in puncture of soft tissue lesions, when using AR ultrasound (AR US) compared with standard US (sUS).

Methods: Forty-four medical students (28 women, 16 men) who had completed a basic US course, but had no experience with AR US, were asked to perform US-guided biopsies with both sUS and AR US, with a randomized selection of the initial modality.

FGF2 overrides key pro-fibrotic features of bone marrow stromal cells isolated from Modic type 1 change patients.

Extensive extracellular matrix production and increased cell-matrix adhesion by bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) are hallmarks of fibrotic alterations in the vertebral bone marrow known as Modic type 1 changes (MC1). MC1 are associated with non-specific chronic low-back pain. To identify treatment targets for MC1, in vitro studies using patient BMSCs are important to reveal pathological mechanisms.