New Immune System Clue to Low Back Pain
June 29, 2010 -- An immune system substance may contribute to causing the low back pain associated with herniated and degenerated discs, according to a new study.
"We have identified an immune substance that could start the inflammatory process for disc herniation and disc degeneration," says researcher William J. Richardson, MD, professor of orthopaedic surgery at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
The substance, interleukin-17 or IL-17, was found in more than 70% of surgical tissue samples taken from patients with degenerated or herniated disc disease, but rarely in healthy disc tissue samples, the researchers found.
The discovery is believed to be a first, Richardson tells WebMD. ''This is the first paper to identify IL-17 in patients with disc herniation and disc degeneration. It suggests that IL-17 may be a mediator for disc herniation and the inflammatory pain associated with that, and also with disc degeneration."
While there is no immediate benefit for those suffering from low back pain due to disc problems, "it opens up new avenues to deal with the problem down the road," he says. One possibility: a drug that blocks IL-17. Such drugs are in development for rheumatoid arthritis, Richardson says, but he has not begun a study for disc patients.
The study is published in the July issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
Slideshow: Back Pain Myths
"We have identified an immune substance that could start the inflammatory process for disc herniation and disc degeneration," says researcher William J. Richardson, MD, professor of orthopaedic surgery at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
The substance, interleukin-17 or IL-17, was found in more than 70% of surgical tissue samples taken from patients with degenerated or herniated disc disease, but rarely in healthy disc tissue samples, the researchers found.
The discovery is believed to be a first, Richardson tells WebMD. ''This is the first paper to identify IL-17 in patients with disc herniation and disc degeneration. It suggests that IL-17 may be a mediator for disc herniation and the inflammatory pain associated with that, and also with disc degeneration."
While there is no immediate benefit for those suffering from low back pain due to disc problems, "it opens up new avenues to deal with the problem down the road," he says. One possibility: a drug that blocks IL-17. Such drugs are in development for rheumatoid arthritis, Richardson says, but he has not begun a study for disc patients.
The study is published in the July issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
Slideshow: Back Pain Myths