Abstract #0535

pH Measurement of Intervertebral Disc in the Process of Disc Degeneration Using Quantitative Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (qCEST)

Zhengwei Zhou^1,2, Maxim Bez³, Wafa Tawackoli^1,4,5, Dmitriy Sheyn^4,5, Joseph C. Giaconi⁶, Zulma Gazit^3,4,5,7, Gadi Pelled^1,3,4,5, Dan Gazit^1,3,4,5,7, and Debiao Li^1,2

¹Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ²Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, ³Skeletal Biotech Laboratory, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, ⁴BOG Regenerative Medicine Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ⁵Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ⁶Department of Imaging, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, CA, United States, ⁷Department of Orthopedics, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Several hypotheses associate the pathogenesis of discogenic low back pain with low pH. In this study, we used qCEST MRI technique to monitor the pH changes of the intervertebral disc in the process of degeneration in porcine model. A significant pH drop was observed at 2 weeks following degeneration induction. This trend is correlated with the expression of pain markers. These results suggest that qCEST MRI has the potential to serve as a novel and non-invasive method for the diagnosis of discogenic pain.

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