This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.Degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the intervertebral disc (IVD) is the most common cause of back-related disability among North American adults, affecting nearly 12 million people in the united states, and cost nearly 50 billion dollars in health-related expenditures in United States alone. Conventional T1 and T2 imaging techniques are useful for observing morphological changes to the intervertebral disc (IVD). However, these structural changes occur only in the later stages of DDD. The initial phase of IVD degeneration is marked by the breakdown of proteoglycans (PG) in the extracellular matrix of the nucleus pulposus. In previous research, sodium MRI has been validated as a tool for quantitative measurement of the fixed charge density (FCD), which correlates to the amount of proteoglycan present. In this study, sodium MRI will be performed on ex vivo lower lumbar specimens. The samples will be gathered from subjects of various age, since increasing age also results in PG breakdown and disc degeneration. First, sodium MR images will be collected and used to extract FCD measurements. Next, the specimens will be analyzed for PG content using biochemical assay. The PG content vs. age and FCD vs. age data will then be compared to see if a similar trend exists.
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