title: Assessing the correlation between the degree of disc degeneration on the Pfirrmann scale and the metabolites identified in HR-MAS NMR spectroscopy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study is to assess the correlation between the degree of degeneration of lumbar discs according to the Pfirrmann classification system and the concentrations of metabolites determined by means of 1H high-resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (1H HR MAS NMR) spectroscopy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-six human intervertebral lumbar discs that were operated on due to degenerative disease were analyzed. Routine preoperative 1.5T, T2-weighed magnetic resonance (MR) images were used to classify the cases according to the Pfirrmann classification system. In all the cases, during microdiscectomy, the fragments of the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus were harvested and their metabolic profile was examined by means of 1H HR MAS. The grades of disc degeneration on the Pfirrmann scale were correlated with the metabolite concentrations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Spectral analyses of the intervertebral discs with Pfirrmann grades IV and V demonstrated significantly higher concentrations of creatine, glycine, hydroxyproline, alanine, leucine, valine, acetate, isoleucine, α,β-glucose, and myo-inositol, and a lower intensity of the N-acetyl peak of chondroitin sulfate, compared to the spectra with Pfirrmann grade III.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results demonstrate correlations between metabolite concentrations and the degree of lumbar disc degeneration assessed using the Pfirrmann grading system and provide another step toward the potential use of in vivo MR spectroscopy for investigation of biomarkers in lumbar disc degeneration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery and Peripheral Nerve Surgery, WAM University Hospital, Central Veterans' Hospital of the Medical University of Łódź, Poland. Electronic address: maciej.radek@umed.lodz.pl.
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Radek
authors.affiliation: Institute of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Technology, Łódź, Poland. Electronic address: barbara.pacholczyk@p.lodz.pl.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pacholczyk-Sienicka
authors.affiliation: Institute of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Technology, Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jankowski
authors.affiliation: Institute of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Technology, Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Łukasz
authors.initials: Ł
authors.lastname: Albrecht
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological and Isotopic Diagnostics and Therapy, Medical University of Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grodzka
authors.affiliation: Department of Management, Technical University of Lodz, Poland; Department of Health Care Financing, Medical University of Lodz, Poland.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Depta
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery and Peripheral Nerve Surgery, WAM University Hospital, Central Veterans' Hospital of the Medical University of Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radek
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D000070616:Annulus Fibrosus / Q000378:metabolism; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000032:analysis; D005947:Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007294:Inositol / Q000032:analysis; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D055959:Intervertebral Disc Degeneration / Q000145:classification / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008875:Middle Aged; D000070614:Nucleus Pulposus / Q000378:metabolism; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000032:analysis; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D011509:Proteoglycans; D007294:Inositol; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates; D005947:Glucose
keywords: Degenerative disc disease; HR MAS NMR; MRI spectroscopy; Metabolic profile