Role of environmental factors and history of low back pain in sciatica symptoms among Finnish adolescents.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study in a subcohort of the 1986 Northern Finland Birth Cohort (n = 1987).

Objective: To investigate the role of environmental factors and LBP history in sciatica symptoms among Finnish young adults.

Summary Of Background Data: History of low back pain (LBP), smoking, and male sex are associated with sciatica in adult populations.

Genetic susceptibility of intervertebral disc degeneration among young Finnish adults.

Background: Disc degeneration (DD) is a common condition that progresses with aging. Although the events leading to DD are not well understood, a significant genetic influence has been found. This study was undertaken to assess the association between relevant candidate gene polymorphisms and moderate DD in a well-defined and characterized cohort of young adults.

Determination of dopamine and methoxycatecholamines in patient urine by liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection and by capillary electrophoresis coupled with spectrophotometry and mass spectrometry.

The applicability of capillary electrophoresis (CE) with UV and mass spectrometric (MS) detection for the determination of dopamine and methoxycatecholamines in urine was evaluated in comparison with the liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection (LC-EC) method widely used in catecholamine analysis. The catecholamines in urine were deconjugated with acid or enzyme hydrolysis, purified by cation exchange (CEX) or solid-phase extraction (SPE) with a copolymer of N-divinylpyrrolidone and divinylbenzene and analyzed by LC-EC, CE-UV, and CE-MS. Acid hydrolysis was more effective in the deconjugation than enzymatic hydrolysis with Helix pomatia.