The relationship between Modic changes and intervertebral disc degeneration

BACKGROUND: Recent reported results have added to the weight of evidence supporting association between disc degeneration and Modic changes. Endplate or Modic changes are also associated with increased body mass index. The most recent study from Teichtahl et al. titled 'Modic changes in the lumbar spine and their association with body composition, fat distribution and intervertebral disc height - a 3.0 T-MRI study' showed associations of Modic changes with quantitatively measured reduced disc height and fat mass index. However, there were some facts, which we would like to address in this Correspondence to their article. DISCUSSION: The different components of intervertebral disc degeneration such as loss of disc height and disc signal intensity have already been shown associated with endplate changes - but not disc height if it is assessed using newer more precise methods of quantitation of disc height. A possible protective effect of different adiposity distribution in the body to Modic change development would be of interest if observed in a longitudinal study in the future. Modic changes have been associated with different components of intervertebral disc degeneration such as loss of disc height and disc signal intensity previously. The influence of body fat distribution on endplate changes would be interesting to study longitudinally

Joint stiffness is heritable and associated with fibrotic conditions and joint replacement

ObjectiveJoint stiffness is a common, debilitating, age-related symptom, which may be seen after total joint replacement (TJR). Stiffness also occurs in fibrotic conditions such as shoulder capsulitis and Dupuytren's contracture. We speculated that the two traits (TJR and fibrotic disease) are linked pathogenically.MethodsUsing the TwinsUK NIHR BRC BioResource we tested the hypotheses that 1) joint (hip and knee) stiffness, TJR (hip and knee), and fibrotic conditions are associated and 2) genetic factors contribute to them.ResultsParticipating twins (n = 9718) had completed self-reported questionnaires on the traits of interest. All three traits were significantly associated with increasing age and body mass index (BMI), as well as female sex, on univariate analysis. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed a significant association between TJR and joint stiffness (OR = 3.96, 95% confidence interval, CI 2.77-5.68) and between fibrotic conditions and joint stiffness (OR = 2.39, 1.74-3.29), adjusting for age, sex, BMI and twin relatedness. Monozygotic versus dizygotic intraclass correlations gave heritability estimates for TJR = 46% and joint stiffness = 32%.ConclusionThat fibrotic conditions, joint stiffness and TJR are significantly associated suggests a common disease process, possibly fibrosis, which is genetically mediated

What is the effect of alcohol consumption on the risk of chronic widespread pain? : A Mendelian randomisation study using UK Biobank

This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank resource, application no. 1144, and was funded by the University of Aberdeen. MF is funded by the EU FP7 project PainOmics (contract #602736). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declarePeer reviewedPostprin

Lumbar disc degeneration and genetic factors are the main risk factors for low back pain in women: the UK Twin Spine Study

Low back pain (LBP) is a common musculoskeletal disorder, but it is still unclear which individuals develop it. The authors examined the contribution of genetic factors, lumbar disc degeneration (LDD) and other risk factors in a female sample of the general population. Material an

Progression of lumbar disc degeneration over a decade: a heritability study

Lumbar disc degeneration (LDD) is prevalent, age-related and contributes to low back pain. Cross-sectional LDD as determined by MRI scan is known to be highly heritable. The authors postulated that the rate of progression might also be controlled by genetic factors