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An Experimental Study of The Effects Of Nicotine on The Intervertebral Disc
Author(s) -
Afifi Nahla Maher,
Hafez Kawther Ahmed
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.6.a971-c
Subject(s) - nicotine , degeneration (medical) , intervertebral disc , medicine , endoplasmic reticulum , vacuole , lumbar , anatomy , pathology , chemistry , biochemistry , cytoplasm
Clinically it had been noticed that a large proportion of patients presenting with low back pain are smokers. Therefore in this experimental study we investigated the histological effects of nicotine on the lumbar intervertebral discs of the rabbits. Eighteen rabbits were used in this experiment. They were divided into 4 groups, 2 control groups G1a&G1b, and 2 treated groups G2 & G3. Groups 2 & 3were injected intraperitoneally by 500ug/kg nicotine daily for 4 or 8 weeks successively. The selected dose produced blood nicotine levels equivalent to those found in heavy smokers (30 cigarettes /day). Light and electron microscopic studies revealed that nicotine injection showed a variety of histological changes, which were not observed in the control group. This includes appearance of spaces within the nucleus pulposus and separation from the adjacent fibrous lamellae in the annulus fibrosus. Also loss of the regularity of the multilayered structure of the annulus fibrosus, and excessive inclusions associated with vacuoles which continue with the rough endoplasmic reticulum within the chondrocytes. Disc degeneration was more marked in rabbits injected with nicotine for 8 weeks (G3) than in those injected for 4 weeks (G2). This may indicate that the disc degeneration is more common among smokers and is correlated with the duration of exposure to nicotine.