ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There is some limited evidence for the presence of viruses in herniated disc material including a previous case series that claimed to provide "unequivocal evidence of the presence of herpes virus DNA in intervertebral disc specimens of patients with lumbar disc herniation suggesting the potential role of herpes viruses as a contributing factor to the pathogenesis of degenerative disc disease". This study has not been replicated. The objective of our study was to determine if viruses were present in herniated disc fragments in participants with a prior history of back pain. METHODS: We recruited fifteen participants with a history of prior low-back pain prior to undergoing disc herniation surgery in the lumbar spine. Harvested disc samples were subject to next generation sequencing for detection of both RNA and DNA viral pathogens. Additionally, samples were analysed by a broadly reactive PCR targeting herpesviral DNA. Ethics approval was granted by the Human Research Ethics Committees of both Murdoch University, and St John of God Hospital, Western Australia. RESULTS: Of the fifteen research participants, 8 were female. Mean age was 49.4 years (SD 14.5 yrs) with a range of 24-70 years. All participants had prior back pain with mean time since first ever attack being 8.8 years (SD 8.8 yrs). No samples contained significant DNA sequences relating to known human viral agents. Inconsequential retroviral sequences were commonly found and were a mixture of putative animal and human retroviral protein coding segments. All samples were negative for herpesvirus DNA when analysed by pan-herpesvirus PCR. CONCLUSIONS: This study found no viral pathogens in any intervertebral disc fragments of patients who had previous back pain and underwent discectomy for disc herniation and thus it is unlikely that viruses are associated with disc herniation, however given the contradiction between key studies enhanced replication of this experiment is recommended.
Subject(s)
DNA, Viral/isolation & purification , Intervertebral Disc Displacement/virology , Intervertebral Disc/virology , Lumbar Vertebrae/virology , Adult , Aged , Diskectomy , Endogenous Retroviruses/genetics , Endogenous Retroviruses/isolation & purification , Female , Herpesviridae/genetics , Herpesviridae/isolation & purification , Humans , Intervertebral Disc Displacement/surgery , Male , Middle Aged , RNA, Viral/isolation & purification , Young AdultABSTRACT
Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is associated with several extrahepatic manifestations, including neuromuscular and joint disorders, and HCV RNA has been detected in muscle fibers of patients with myosistis and chronic hepatitis C. However, whether HCV infects muscle cells in patients without myosistis is unknown. The presence of HCV in other sites of the musculoskeletal system has not been investigated. In the present study the presence of HCV RNA was sought in muscle (2 cases), intervertebral disk (1 case) and meniscus (1 case) samples from patients with chronic hepatitis C. HCV RNA was not detected by reverse transcription and real-time polymerase chain reaction in any of the samples tested. In conclusion, the results do not support a direct role of HCV in musculoskeletal disorders associated with chronic hepatitis C.
Subject(s)
Hepacivirus/isolation & purification , Hepatitis C, Chronic/virology , Intervertebral Disc/virology , Menisci, Tibial/virology , Muscle, Skeletal/virology , HumansABSTRACT
A mensuracao da compressao do disco invertebral e uma das tecnicas aplicadas na analise da sobrecarga na coluna lombra.O objetivo deste trabalho foi estimar a compressao intradiscal(CI)em L5?S1 no momento final do exercicio de agachamento(AG)com peso.A amostra foi composta de 25 individuos com idade 25,8 +ou-5,3anos,estatura media 171,3+ ou- 9,9cm e peso medio 69,5+ou-13,9Kg fotografados com sobrecarga:de pe,AG com flexao minima e AG com flexao de tronco.As cargas utilizadas representaram um percentual medio do peso corporal de 25,0+ ou-7,7 por cento.Foram medidos,nas fotos,os angulos de flexao de tronco,joelho e tornozelo,utilizados como dados no aplicativo 2D STATIC STRENGTH PREDICTION PROGRAMVersion 4.2(Michigam University USA),alem de outras medidas antropometricas para estimativa da CI.Os valores estimados de CI foram comparados atravez do teste estatico Wilcoxon,o os resultados considerados significativos com p menor 5.Os resultados medios de CI na posicao em pe foi de 124,6 + ou-39,8lbs.A CI no exercicio com minima flexao de tronco foi 508,1 + ou-127,0lbs,significativamente menor que a no exercicio com flexao livre de tronco que foi de 670,3 + ou -128,7lbs.Os resultados masculinos apresentam valores medios maiores que os femininos.Mesmo exercutado corretamente, o AG aumenta significativamnete a CI,sendo fundamental a orientacao profissional na realizacao e indicacao do exercicio de AG
