This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Patients with sciatica may have elevated serum chemokine
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
The chemokine MCP-1 may be elevated in patients with sciatica, according to the results of a study.
Participants were 18 or older with lower back pain and sciatica. Every patient underwent a standard clinical examination lumbar spine MRI and blood serum was collected for analysis. Disc prolapse with the presence or absence of nerve root compression was confirmed with MRI.
Sera from a group of 53 patients with radiculopathy confirmed by MRI investigation was compared to 63 participants without radiculopathy recruited from the Haywood Community Hospital in Staffordshire, U.K. The sera were analyzed through duplicate assays for 17 key chemokines and cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), interleukin- (IL-) 1, matrix metalloproteinase- 1 (MMP-1), MMP-3, MMP-8 and aggregan and monocyte chemottractant protein-1 (M-1, CCL-2) with a multiplex detection system and median levels were compared.
The 53 patients with MRI-defined radiculopathy had higher levels of MCP-1 (301.4 pg/mL) compared to the 63 patients without radiculopathy (255.7 pg/mL). Thirty patients with severe leg pain and MRI-detected changes had higher levels of MCP-1 (315.9 pg/mL) compared to 85 patients who did not present severe leg pain or changes on MRI (256.7 pg/mL). No other significant differences in the levels of cytokines, chemokines or pro-inflammatory markers were seen between the two groups of patients. – by Shirley Pulawski
Reference:
Hider S, et al. Paper #FRI0556. Presented at: European League Against Rheumatism Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. June 10-13, 2015; Rome.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.