Award-winning study says back pain may be in your genesApril 09, 2008Study into causes of disc degeneration awarded Kappa Delta Award from American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons What do you learn by looking at the spines of hundreds of Finnish twins? If you are the international team of researchers behind the Twin Spine Study, you find compelling proof that back pain problems may be more a matter of genetics than physical strain. The findings of the Twin Spine Study, an ongoing research program started in 1991, have led to a dramatic paradigm shift in the way disc degeneration is understood. Last month a paper presenting an overview of the Twin Spine Study's multidisciplinary investigation into the root causes of disc degeneration received a Kappa Delta Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, arguably the most prestigious annual award in musculoskeletal research. "In the past, the factors most commonly suspected of accelerating degenerative changes in the discs were various occupational physical loading conditions, such as handling of heavy materials, postural loading and vehicular vibration," said lead researcher Michele Crites-Battié of the University of Alberta's Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine. Drawing on information from 600 participants in the population-based Finnish Twin Cohort-147 pairs of identical and 153 pairs of fraternal male twins-the Twin Spine Study has turned the dominant "injury model" approach to disc degeneration on its head. Researchers from Canada, Finland, the United States and the United Kingdom compared identical twin siblings who differed greatly in their exposure to a suspected risk factor for back problems; for example, one of the twins had a sedentary job while the other had heavy occupational physical demands, or one routinely engaged in occupational driving while the other did not. The studies yielded startling results, suggesting that genetics play a much larger role in disc degeneration than previously thought. Despite extraordinary differences between identical twin siblings in occupational and leisure-time physical loading conditions throughout adulthood, surprisingly little effect on disc degeneration was observed. The findings indicated that while physical loading-handling heavy loads, bending, twisting and static work in awkward postures-appears to influence disc degeneration, the effects are very modest. During the course of the exposure-discordant twin studies, said Crites-Battié, the observation that struck anyone who viewed the twin sibling images side-by-side was the strong resemblance in disc degeneration, not only in the degree of degeneration, but also in the types of findings and spinal levels involved. The Twin Spine Study is far from over: having found evidence that genetics may play an overlooked role in disc degeneration, the team of North American and European is now working to identify the specific genes and biological mechanisms influencing disc degeneration and back pain problems; understanding how degeneration progresses over time; and differentiating normal, inconsequential changes from degenerative changes that lead to pain. "This advance in the understanding of disc degeneration provides a foundation from which to develop new hypotheses and more fruitful research that may help shed light on one of the most common and costly musculoskeletal conditions facing the developed countries of the world," said Crites-Battié. University of Alberta |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Degeneration Current Events and Degeneration News Articles New Down syndrome treatment suggested by Stanford/Packard study in mice At birth, children with Down syndrome aren't developmentally delayed. But as they age, these kids fall behind. Memory deficits inherent in Down syndrome hinder learning, making it hard for the brain to collect experiences needed for normal cognitive development. Cognitive dysfunction reversed in mouse model of Down syndrome A study by neuroscientist William C. Mobley, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues at Stanford University Medical School has demonstrated a possible new approach to slowing the inevitable progression of cognitive decline found in Down's syndrome. Cataract surgery does not appear associated with worsening of age-related macular degeneration Age-related macular degeneration does not appear to progress at a higher rate among individuals who have had surgery to treat cataract, contrary to previous reports that treating one cause of vision loss worsens the other. Researchers explore new ways to prevent spinal cord damage using a vitamin B3 precursor Substances naturally produced by the human body may one day help prevent paralysis following a spinal cord injury, according to researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College. A recent $2.5 million grant from the New York State Spinal Cord Injury Research Board will fund their research investigating this possibility. Breeding better broccoli Carotenoids-fat-soluble plant compounds found in some vegetables-are essential to the human diet and reportedly offer important health benefits to consumers. Cataract surgery helps AMD patients; steroid improves DME; online eye health forum This month's Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) reports on a national study that finds cataract surgery is likely to benefit patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at all stages of the disease, on a clinical trial showing that the steroid triamcinolone may be effective in advanced diabetic macular edema (DME) patients when standard treatment fails, and on the public's use of two Academy-sponsored online eye health forums. Widely used cholesterol-lowering drug may prevent progression Simvastatin, a commonly used, cholesterol-lowering drug, may prevent Parkinson's disease from progressing further. Neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center conducted a study examining the use of the FDA-approved medication in mice with Parkinson's disease and found that the drug successfully reverses the biochemical, cellular and anatomical changes caused by the disease. Researchers find brain cell transplants help repair neural damage A Swiss research team has found that using an animal's own brain cells (autologous transplant) to replace degenerated neurons in select brain areas of donor primates with simulated but asymptomatic Parkinson's disease and previously in a motor cortex lesion model, provides a degree of brain protection and may be useful in repairing brain lesions and restoring function. Neurologists Investigate Possible New Underlying Cause of MS Neurologists at the University at Buffalo are beginning a research study that could overturn the prevailing wisdom on the cause of multiple sclerosis (MS). 1 shot of gene therapy and children with congenital blindness can now see Born with a retinal disease that made him legally blind, and would eventually leave him totally sightless, the nine-year-old boy used to sit in the back of the classroom, relying on the large print on an electronic screen and assisted by teacher aides. More Degeneration Current Events and Degeneration News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||