Effects of Tobacco Smoking on the Degeneration of the Intervertebral Disc: A Finite Element Study.

ABSTRACT: Tobacco smoking is associated with numerous pathological conditions. Compelling experimental evidence associates smoking to the degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVD). In particular, it has been shown that nicotine down-regulates both the proliferation rate and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) biosynthesis of disc cells. Moreover, tobacco smoking causes the constriction of the vascular network surrounding the IVD, thus reducing the exchange of nutrients and anabolic agents from the blood vessels to the disc. It has been hypothesized that both nicotine presence in the IVD and the reduced solute exchange are responsible for the degeneration of the disc due to tobacco smoking, but their effects on tissue homeostasis have never been quantified. In this study, a previously presented computational

SUBMITTER: Elmasry S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4547737 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature