Biomarkers in the Degenerative Human Intervertebral Disc Tissue and Blood.
Yejia Zhang, Lutian Yao, Keith M Robinson, Timothy R Dillingham
PMID 34954738WHAT IT FOUND
This review discusses inflammatory markers in disc tissue and blood.
It does not test any treatments or report patient outcomes, so it offers no evidence to change clinical practice.
What this paper is
This is a narrative review describing inflammatory biomarkers found in intervertebral disc tissue and blood. It does not report new clinical trials, patient outcomes, or treatment interventions, so there is no finding here to change your practice on.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the discussion of biomarkers as evidence that testing blood levels helps diagnose back pain or guide treatment. The review states that sensitivity and specificity are unknown and warns against using these markers to justify interventions like spinal fusion.