Letters to the Editor: Degenerative disc disease and osteoporosis

Senile osteoporosis is associated with disc degeneration

“…However, other studies reported that osteoporotic patients have more severe disc degeneration (6,7). Some authors suggest that osteoporosis would possibly delay disc degeneration because of an increase in intradiscal nutrient diffusion and a decreased endplate resistance and decreased intradiscal strain due to the low quality of the bone (8,9). On the other hand, it is also proposed that osteoporosis may be an etiological factor in the development of lumbar disc degeneration with osteoporosis inducing loss of vertebral height, leading to instability, facet arthrosis, and disc degeneration (7).…”

“…On the other hand, it is also proposed that osteoporosis may be an etiological factor in the development of lumbar disc degeneration with osteoporosis inducing loss of vertebral height, leading to instability, facet arthrosis, and disc degeneration (7). After many years' research, whether osteoporosis promotes or protects disc against degeneration still remains debated in the literature (8)(9)(10)(11)(12). Hereby we argue that current evidences suggest senile osteoporosis promotes disc degeneration.…”

Deletion of Opg Leads to Increased Neovascularization and Expression of Inflammatory Cytokines in the Lumbar Intervertebral Disc of Mice

“…Besides these risk factors, osteoporosis has been a controversial risk factor for IVD degeneration, especially in post menopausal women. Several studies suggested an inverse correlation between osteoporosis and degenerative disc disease 11,12 , while other studies found that the prevalence of lumbar disc degeneration in osteoporotic men was high 13 , and demonstrated that osteoporosis accelerated the degeneration of intervertebral disc in a specific time window 14,15 .…”