Skip to main content
European Spine Journal logoLink to European Spine Journal
. 2001 Jul 25;11(1):57–61. doi: 10.1007/s005860100299

Nucleus pulposus-induced nerve root injury: effects of diclofenac and ketoprofen

M Cornefjord 1, K Olmarker 1, K Otani 1, B Rydevik 1
PMCID: PMC3610489  PMID: 11931065

Abstract.

Main problem. Nucleus pulposus and/or chronic compression can induce spinal nerve root injury. Inflammation has been proposed as having major importance in the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in the induction of such injuries. Corticosteroids, potent anti-inflammatory drugs, have been demonstrated to reduce nucleus pulposus-induced spinal nerve root injury. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of two potent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), diclofenac and ketoprofen, in experimental nucleus pulposus-induced spinal nerve root injury in a pig model. Methods. Eighteen pigs were included in the study. Autologous nucleus pulposus was harvested from a lumbar disc and applied locally around the first sacral nerve root after a partial laminectomy of the first and second sacral vertebrae. Six pigs were treated with daily intramuscular injections of diclofenac, 3 mg/kg body weight, for 7 days. Six other pigs were treated with daily intramuscular injections of ketoprofen, 4 mg/kg body weight, for 7 days. As controls, six pigs received injections with physiologic saline. After 7 days, the pigs were reanesthetized and the nerve conduction velocity over the exposed nerve root area was determined. Results. The nerve conduction velocity was significantly higher in pigs treated with diclofenac than in the saline-treated controls, (57±6 m/s vs 38±18 m/s, P<0.05, Student's t-test). The velocity in pigs treated with ketoprofen, 42±24 m/s, did not differ significantly from that of controls. Conclusions. This study of two potent NSAIDs indicates that nucleus pulposus-induced nerve root dysfunction may be reduced by diclofenac but not by ketoprofen. The reason for this difference is not known, but it might be related to the fact that ketoprofen and diclofenac belong to different NSAID subgroups and have a different selectivity for the two cyclo-oxygenases COX-1 and COX-2.

Keywords: Spinal nerve roots Inflammation Intervertebral disc Ketoprofen Diclofenac

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (53.3 KB).

Footnotes

Electronic Publication


Articles from European Spine Journal are provided here courtesy of Springer-Verlag

RESOURCES