Study Design: A prospective analysis of patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH).
Objectives: To determine the role of neuropeptides as a biochemical signature of pain states in patients with LDH.
Summary Of Background Data: Increases in the plasma level of neuropeptides have been reported in patients suffering from a variety of painful conditions. However, there is no such report on patients with LDH.
Methods: From a total of 27 patients with a single-level LDH, blood samples were collected before and 3 weeks after lumbar discectomy. Plasma levels of alpha calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), galanin, neuropeptide Y, and substance P were determined by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The association or correlation between preoperative concentration of plasma neuropeptides and gender, patients' age, and VAS were analyzed statistically. Also, the concentration of plasma neuropeptides was compared before and after lumbar discectomy.
Results: Preoperative plasma levels of CGRP were correlated significantly with the extent of sciatica as determined by VAS. In addition, plasma levels of CGRP and galanin significantly decreased after lumbar discectomy in line with the disappearance of pain symptoms.
Conclusions: These findings indicate the role of plasma CGRP and possibly galanin as a systemic neurochemical signature of pain states in patients with LDH.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.brs.0000252204.88750.cf | DOI Listing |
Neuropharmacology
January 2025
Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga y Plataforma en Nanomedicina (IBIMA-Plataforma BIONAND), 29590 Málaga, Spain; Unidad de Gestión Clínica de Salud Mental, Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain. Electronic address:
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January 2025
Departments of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Metabolism, University Hospital Basel, Petersgraben 4, 4031, Basel, Switzerland.
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
January 2025
Electron Microscopy Center, Department of Biological Sciences, State University of Santa Cruz, Ilheus 45662-900, Brazil.
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Int Med Res
January 2025
Department of Clinical Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimaniyah, Iraq.
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World J Orthop
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Department of Orthopedics, The Third Medical Center, General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Beijing 100039, China.
Lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration is thought to be the main cause of low back pain, although the mechanisms by which it occurs and leads to pain remain unclear. In healthy adult discs, vessels and nerves are present only in the outer layer of the annulus fibrosus and in the bony endplate. Animal models, and histological and biomechanical studies have shown that annulus tear or endplate injury is the initiating factor for painful disc degeneration.
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