Meeting Banner
Abstract #0812

HR-MAS Spectroscopy of Human Intervertebral Disc Tissue Demonstrates the Lactate/N-Acetyl Ratio as a Potential Marker for Painful Degenerative Disc Disease

Rahwa Berhanu Iman1, Serena Hu2, Lynn DeLosSantos1, John Claude3, James Peacock3, Sharmila Majumdar1, John Kurhanewicz1

1Radiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; 2Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA; 3NociMed, Redwood City, CA


The intervertebral disc is thought to be a primary source of low back pain, which is difficult to evaluate clinically. To determine whether chemical biomarkers can discriminate painful from non-painful degenerated discs, ex vivo long echo-time 1H (HR-MAS) spectroscopy data were acquired from intervertebral disc tissue and correlated with a clinical assessment of pain. The relative ratios of the lactate/N-acetyl provide a significant discrimination of painful from non-painful degenerated discs. Although there is a clear need for a larger patient cohort study to validate these findings, the lactate/N-acetyl ratio could provide a potential marker for painful disc degeneration.