SIB#392-Viruses and Disc Herniation?
The Study: Are viruses associated with disc herniation?
The Facts:
a. There is “limited evidence” of the presence of viruses in herniated discs.
b. A previous case study found what they termed “unequivocal evidence” of the presence of the DNA of the herpes virus in lumbar disc herniations.
c. That finding suggests that the herpes virus could be a contributing factor in degenerative disc disease.
d. However, that study had not been repeated so the authors wanted to find out if the herpes virus could be found in fragments of herniated discs from patients with a history of back pain.
e. Therefore they repeated the study, this time using fifteen subjects.
f. All patients had undergone lumbar disc surgery and the disc samples were analyzed for “both RNA and DNA viral pathogens.”
g. “…this study found no viral pathogens in any intervertebral disc fragments of patients who had previous back pain and underwent discectomy for disc herniation …”
h. But the authors noted that since there is a discrepancy between their study and the previous one, a third study of this type was needed to include both “seropositive and seronegative cohorts, along with transcriptome analysis …”
Take Home:
A previous case series indicated that the herpes virus might be involved in degenerative joint disease, however this study did not find that to be so. But, as the authors noted, when you have two studies that come to different conclusions so a third study is needed.
Reviewer's Comments:
I thought that this concept was very interesting and I am hopeful that a third study will be done on this subject. It is worth noting that studies often come to very different conclusions. Be careful not to always take the conclusions of the newest and shiniest study as the final word.
Reviewer: Roger Coleman DC
Editor: Mark R. Payne DC
Reference: Walker BF, Armson AJ, O’Dea MA, White MA, White JR, Lind CRP, Woodland PR. Are viruses associated with disc herniation? A clinical case series. BMC Musculoskelet Doisord. 2020 Jan 14;21(1):27. doi: 10.1186/s12891-020-3052-8.
Link to Abstract: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31937280
Link to Full Text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6961364/pdf/12891_2020_Article_3052.pdf