title: Moderate alcohol consumption may decrease risk of intervertebral disc degeneration.
abstract: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a serious health problem worldwide. Unfortunately, efforts to control IDD are largely unsuccessful. It is therefore important to get better understanding of risks. Various evidences indicate that moderate alcohol consumption has protective effect on IDD. Here, we review the clinical evidence on alcohol consumption and IDD, and propose a possible mechanism. There is increasing evidence indicating that moderate alcohol consumption keeps the feeding arteries smooth. Furthermore, strong evidence indicates that some inflammatory factors are very important in the pathophysiology of IDD, while moderate alcohol consumption can decrease the expression of these inflammatory factors. Moreover, experimental studies show that alcohol exposure could increase the type II collagen and aggrecan, the major constituents of nucleus pulposus matrix. Given the above background, we hypothesize that moderate alcohol consumption may reduce the risk of IDD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Institute of Orthopaedics Research, 2nd Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, #88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou 310009, China. zhangning98@gmail.com
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Wei-Shan
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Sheng-Jie
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012307:Risk Factors