Tissue Collection for Understanding Intervertebral Disc Degeneration and Back Pain

March 19, 2024 updated by: Northwell Health
The purpose of the research is to collect and examine spinal disc and ligament tissues to see if there are any biological markers that can be correlated with MRI images to help us learn more about causes of back pain. Spinal discs are the pillow-like cushions between the bones of the spine. They act as shock-absorbers for the spine. Spinal ligaments support the disc structure during movement.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

Degenerative disc disease is the most prevalent indication for spine surgery and the major source of back pain in afflicted patients. Age related degeneration of the intervertebral discs is not the exception, but the rule. Degenerative changes are associated with weakening of the disc and hypertrophy of the ligamentum flavum in the spine. The aim of this study is to determine if there are any local or systemic biomarkers that correlate with the severity of degeneration as indicated by radiological examination. To date, Imaging (XRay, MRI, CT scans) are the most widely used diagnostic tools for identifying degenerated discs. Physical changes in the disc are also associated with increased secretion and expression of inflammatory mediators in the tissue. The investigators are interested in measuring both gene and protein level changes of inflammatory mediators in degenerated discs in order to correlate these levels with imaging based indicators of degeneration. Protein level changes in the disc and ligamentum flavum have yet to be correlated with MRI-derived disc modic changes classification system. The investigators hypothesize that as the image characteristics of advancing degenerative disease increase, a corresponding change will be present in the secretion (or expression) of specific markers related to inflammatory processes in the disc. Cytokines found to be upregulated in disc tissue or ligamentum flavum will also be measured in patient's serum levels to begin developing a systemic diagnostic method for detecting disc degeneration.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

200

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • Manhasset, New York, United States, 11030
        • North Shore University Hospital
      • Manhattan, New York, United States, 10021
        • Lenox Hill Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Subjects who meet inclusion criteria will be recruited from the patients undergoing surgery at The North Shore University Hospital and at Lenox Hill Hospital.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. 18 years of age or older
  2. Patients requiring surgery in lumbar spine region (L1-L2 to L5-S1)
  3. Potential procedures: Spinal stenosis, discectomy, laminectomy, lumbar fusion, disc herniation.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients requiring revision surgery in lumbar spine
  2. Patients who have had a discography procedure performed at the same disc level as the one being operated on.
  3. Known inflammatory conditions- Rheumatoid arthritis, Osteomyelitis, Discitis, Gout, Ankylosing spondylitis, and other infections.
  4. Oncologic conditions- any history of cancer of any type.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Inflammatory profile
Time Frame: At surgery
At surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Northwell Health

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Mitchell Levine, MD, Northwell Health

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

January 1, 2011

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 29, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 3, 2012

First Posted (Estimated)

July 4, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 20, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 19, 2024

Last Verified

March 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 10-329A

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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