Type 2 diabetes changes the way the spinal discs behave, making them stiffer, and also causes their shape to change earlier, a new study suggests.
- Type 2 diabetics have an increased risk of lower back pain and disc-related problems.
- A study shows that chronic illness changes the behavior of spinal discs.
- They become stiffer and deform more quickly than those of people who do not have type 2 diabetes.
People who have type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of low back pain. In seeking to understand the origin of these more common back pains, a team of scientists from the University of California San Diego, UC Davis, UCSF and the University of Utah a discovery: chronic illness changes the behavior of the spinal discs, making them stiffer and also causes their shape to change earlier than normal.
Vertebral discs: type 2 diabetes disrupts their functioning
For this study, the researchers compared the vertebral discs of healthy rats to those of rodents suffering from type 2 diabetes. To do this, they used small-angle synchrotron X-ray scattering (SAXS), an experimental technique. examining the deformation and orientation of collagen fibrils (responsible for disc flexibility).
This examination showed that in healthy specimens, collagen fibrils rotate and stretch when the discs are compressed, allowing the disc to dissipate energy efficiently. On the other hand, “cIn diabetic rats, the way spinal discs dissipate energy under compression is significantly impaired: diabetes reduces the rotation and stretching of collagen fibrils, indicating a compromised ability to handle pressure.”, write the scientists. “Specifically, diabetes reduced fibril turnover by 31% and collagen fibril tension by 30%.”
The team also observed that the diabetic rodents’ discs showed stiffening of collagen fibrils, with a higher concentration of non-enzymatic cross-links. This phenomenon favors deformations such as fibril sliding and fibril-matrix delamination, causing the discs to change shape earlier than normal.
Type 2 diabetes: towards a reduction in lower back pain?
For researchers, these data help to understand how type 2 diabetes disrupts the functioning of collagen fibrils and leads to an alteration in the biomechanics of the vertebral disc. This promotes disc degeneration as well as lower back pain. They argue that their work, presented in the journal PNAS Nexus in December 2023, could help reduce lower back pain and disc-related problems in type 2 diabetics.
“These findings provide new insight into potential mechanisms underlying diabetes-related disc injury and could inform the development of preventive and therapeutic strategies for this debilitating disease”conclude the scientists in their press release.
