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Epidemiology of Modic changes in dogs: Prevalence, possible risk factors, and association with spinal phenotypes.

Authors :
Beukers M
Grinwis GCM
Vernooij JCM
van der Hoek L
Tellegen AR
Meij BP
Veraa S
Samartzis D
Tryfonidou MA
Bach FC
Source :
JOR spine [JOR Spine] 2023 Jul 21; Vol. 6 (3), pp. e1273. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jul 21 (Print Publication: 2023).
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

Background: Chronic low back pain, a leading contributor to disease burden worldwide, is often caused by intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. Modic changes (MCs) are MRI signal intensity changes due to lesions in vertebral bone marrow adjacent to degenerated IVDs. Only a few studies described the histopathological changes associated with MC to date. MC type 1 is suggested to be associated with bone marrow infiltration of fibrovascular tissue, type 2 with fatty infiltration, and type 3 with bone sclerosis in humans.<br />Methods: This study investigated whether the dog can be a valuable animal model to research MCs, by examining the prevalence, imaging, and histological characteristics of lumbar MCs in dogs (340 dogs, 2496 spinal segments).<br />Results: Logistic regression analysis indicated that the presence of lumbosacral MCs was associated with age and disc herniation (annulus fibrosis protrusion and/or nucleus pulposus extrusion). According to MRI analysis, MCs were mostly detected at the lumbosacral junction in dogs. Most signal intensity changes represented MC type 3, while previous spinal surgery seemed to predispose for the development of MC type 1 and 2. Histological analysis (16 dogs, 39 spinal segments) indicated that IVDs with MCs showed more histopathological abnormalities in the endplate and vertebral bone marrow than IVDs without MCs. Mostly chondroid proliferation in the bone marrow was encountered, while the histologic anomalies described in humans associated with MCs, such as fibrovascular or fatty infiltration, were scarcely detected.<br />Conclusions: Dogs spontaneously develop MCs, but may exhibit other pathological processes or more chronic bone marrow pathologies than humans with MCs. Therefore, more research is needed to determine the translatability of the MCs encountered in dog low-back-pain patients.<br />Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.<br /> (© 2023 The Authors. JOR Spine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Orthopaedic Research Society.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2572-1143
Volume :
6
Issue :
3
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
JOR spine
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
37780831
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1002/jsp2.1273