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Tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6 in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with cervical myelopathy and lumbar radiculopathy

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Abstract

There have been few reports describing cytokines in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with spinal degenerative disorders. This study investigated whether interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) could be detected in CSF of patients with cervical myelopathy or lumbar radiculopathy and whether the concentrations of those cytokines correlated with the severity of disease conditions. CSF samples were obtained from 21 patients with cervical myelopathy (Group M) and 19 patients with lumbar radiculopathy (Group R), and six volunteers (control). The concentration of IL-6 was significantly higher in Groups M and R than in the control, possibly demonstrating spinal cord and nerve root damage, respectively. However, TNF-α was lower than the detection limit. IL-1β was detected in only five samples from three patients in Group M and two volunteers in the control. The concentrations of IL-6 did not show any correlation with symptom duration, the scoring system by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association, or the duration of nerve root block. There is a possibility that the concentration of inflammatory cytokines in CSF can indicate certain pathological aspects of cervical myelopathy or lumbar radiculopathy.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant-in-aid for scientific research from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. This work was presented in part at Spineweek (Eurospine) 2004, Porto, Portugal, May 30–June 5, 2004, and the 33rd annual meeting of the Japanese Society for Spine Surgery and Related Research, Tokyo, Japan, June 8–10, 2004.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, 36-1 Nishi-machi, Yonago, Tottori, 683-8504, Japan

    Hideki Nagashima, Yoshiro Nanjo & Ryota Teshima

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tottori Chubu Medical Association, Misasaonsen Hospital, Misasa-cho, Tohaku, Tottori, 682-0197, Japan

    Yasuo Morio

  3. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Tottori Red Cross Hospital, 117 Shotoku-cho, Tottori, Tottori, 680-8517, Japan

    Koji Yamane

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  1. Hideki Nagashima
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  2. Yasuo Morio
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  4. Yoshiro Nanjo
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  5. Ryota Teshima
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Correspondence to Hideki Nagashima.

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Nagashima, H., Morio, Y., Yamane, K. et al. Tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6 in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with cervical myelopathy and lumbar radiculopathy. Eur Spine J 18, 1946–1950 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-009-1069-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-009-1069-7

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