NEUROPHYSIOLOGY OF THE LUMBAR DISC AND ADJACENT TISSUE

描述（改编自申请人的摘要）：这是一个 重新提交竞争性续期，其目的是评估 下背痛的神经机制，并试图评估 设计用于治疗这些疾病的药物的潜在效用 动物模型中的疾病。 这一提议的核心假设是， 来自椎间盘突出或环损伤的髓核物质 引起炎症反应和释放痛觉和神经毒素 影响脊髓内神经细胞活动的化学物质 运河 假设对椎间盘中神经末梢的影响， 邻近组织导致腰痛，而对背根和 背根神经节导致坐骨神经痛。 该提案的具体目的是， 神经生理学、组织学、免疫细胞化学和分子生物学 技术. 申请人建议确定已知的化学品是否 存在于椎间盘和发炎组织中， 脐带根 其他目标是确定这种中枢致敏作用是否 当椎骨暴露于髓核时， 或椎间盘损伤，并确定交感神经系统是否 有助于这种敏感性。 申请人认为，这些方法将导致更好的 了解椎间盘损伤和核物质在下背部中的作用 疼痛和坐骨神经痛，结果可能有助于指导治疗。

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from the Applicant's Abstract): This is a re-submission of a competing renewal which has the objective of evaluating the neural mechanisms of low back pain and which attempts to evaluate the potential utility of pharmacological agents designed to treat these disorders in animal models. The central hypothesis of this proposal is that the nucleus pulposus material from herniated discs or injury to the annulus causes inflammatory responses and release of algesic and neurotoxic chemicals that influence the activity of nerve cells within the spinal canal. It is hypothesized that the effects on nerve endings in disc and adjacent tissue lead to low back pain, while the effects on dorsal roots and dorsal root ganglia lead to sciatica. The specific aims of the proposal are to examine these mechanisms using neurophysiological, histological, immunocytochemical and molecular-biologic techniques. The applicants propose to determine whether chemicals known to exist in disc and inflamed tissue act to sensitize nerve endings in spinal cord roots. Additional goals are to determine if this central sensitization occurs in the rat spinal cord when vertebrae are exposed to nucleus pulposus or disc injury and to determine if the sympathetic nervous system contributes to this sensitization. The applicants believe that these approaches will lead to a better understanding of the role of disc injury and nuclear material in low back pain and sciatica, and that the outcomes may be useful in guiding treatment.