Microelement composition of interverte-bral discs in lumbar osteochondrosis

Background. The growing incidence, significant economic losses, costs of compulsory health insurance and high-tech medical care have turned the problem of lumbar osteochondrosis into a socially significant one. Relevance of this problem is determined by the need to study the etiopathogenesis, course of degenerative process for an integrated approach to the selection of an adequate treatment. Objective. Evaluation of the microelement composition of biomaterials represented by tissue fragments of the removed part of the herniated intravertebral disc (IVD), obtained intraoperatively, using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Methods. The study included patients with hernias of the lumbar spine, divided into three groups depending on the stage of development of the disc herniation and age. The examination of biomaterial samples for the content of macro- and microelements was carried out using INAA, which made it possible to determine the content of 22 microelements in IVD tissues with degenerative-dystrophic changes. Results. Analysis of the data obtained revealed that in IVD tissues there is a gradual change in the content of a number of essential elements, depending on the stage of development of degeneration. Conclusion. The correlations of the microelement composition of the disc tissues and the course of the degenerative process revealed in this study can be used to predict the patient’s condition and select an adequate treatment.

osteochondrosis, disc herniation, intervertebral discs, neutron activation analysis, microelements