The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American). 2006;88:72-75.
doi:10.2106/JBJS.E.01326
© 2006 The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc.
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Biologic Markers and Disc Degeneration

A. Robin Poole, PhD, DSc

Corresponding author:
A. Robin Poole, PhD, DSc
Joint Diseases Laboratory, Shriners Hospitals for Children, 1529 Cedar Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1A6, Canada.
E-mail address: rpoole{at}shriners.mcgill.ca

In support of his research for or preparation of this manuscript, the author received grants or outside funding from the Shriners Hospitals for Children and the Canadian Arthritis Network. In addition, the author received payments or other benefits or a commitment or agreement to provide such benefits from a commercial entity (Dr. Poole is a consultant to IBEX Technologies). No commercial entity paid or directed, or agreed to pay or direct, any benefits to any research fund, foundation, educational institution, or other charitable or nonprofit organization with which the author is affiliated or associated.

Biomarkers of skeletal turnover, such as the synthesis and degradation of extracellular matrix molecules in specific tissues, offer the opportunity to gain new insights into spinal pathology and treatment. The creation, use, and interpretation of these analytical body-fluid measures of process (rather than outcome) require a clear understanding of the nature of the molecules and events being measured. This review provides examples of how protein and carbohydrate assays of biomarkers can be used to measure the contribution from the intervertebral discs and vertebrae of the spine. With regard to spinal degeneration and ankylosing spondylitis, these investigations are providing important new information, in weeks rather than years, on the response of patients to treatment.


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