RESEARCH - Surprising find may yield treatment for herniated discs

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Surprising Find May Yield New Avenue Of Treatment For Painful Herniated Discs

MedicalNewsToday.com

Article Date: 01 Jul 2010 - 0:00 PDT

An immune cell known to cause chronic inflammation in autoimmune

disorders has been identified as a possible culprit in low back pain

associated with herniated discs, according to doctors at Duke

University Medical Center.

The finding implicates the cytokine molecule interleukin-17, and

supports the burgeoning theory that an immune response plays a

significant role in disc disease, says J. , MD, an

orthopedic surgeon at Duke. It may also open the door for new,

therapeutic approaches that target a specific immune response in hopes

of halting disc destruction, and possibly reversing the disease

process.

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