Table 2:
Patient Characteristics
| Control (n=12) | Degenerative (n=36) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years (mean ± SD) | 39.8 ± 17.6 | 44.2 ± 15.2 | 0.4763 |
| Male:Female | 6:6 | 15:21 | |
| Race | |||
| Caucasian | 12 | 28 | |
| African American | 0 | 6 | |
| Asian American | 0 | 1 | |
| Other | 0 | 1 | |
| Weight, kg (mean ± SD) | 81.9 ± 28.5 | 88.9 ± 20.7 | 0.1066 |
| BMI, kg/m2 (mean ± SD) | 27.3 ± 7.5 | 31.2 ± 7.5 | 0.0984 |
| Height, m (mean ± SD) | 1.7 ± 0.1 | 1.7 ± 0.1 | 0.2620 |
| Vitamin D, ng/mL (mean ± SD) | 34.9 ± 14.1 | 25.3 ± 9.7 | 0.2657 |
| Smoking | |||
| Current | 2 | 9 | |
| Former | 3 | 7 | |
| Never | 7 | 20 | |
| EBL | 384.1 ± 526.3 | 163.5 ± 370.6 | 0.0989 |
| Pfirrmann grade | 1.75 ± 0.5 | 3.9 ± 0.6 | < 0.0001 |
| Diagnosis | |||
| Facet slip/fracture | 3 | 0 | |
| Vertebral body fracture | 4 | 0 | |
| Tumor | 3 | 0 | |
| Scoliosis | 1 | 0 | |
| Other | 1 | 0 | |
| Disc herniation | 0 | 28 | |
| Spondylolisthesis | 0 | 6 | |
| Stenosis | 0 | 2 | |
| Procedure | |||
| Anterior cervical fusion | 11 | 9 | |
| Lumbar discectomy | 0 | 21 | |
| Lumbar posterior spinal fusion | 1 | 6 | |
| Immunohistochemical Staining (mean ± SD) | |||
| BMP-2 | 5.0 ± 0.03 | 13.1 ± 0.08 | 0.0006 |
| SMAD1/5/8 | 3.9 ± 0.04 | 15.4 ± 0.09 | < 0.0001 |
| ALK3 | 7.5 ± 0.1 | 8.5 ± 0.1 | 0.7903 |
| MMP-13 | 51526.3 ± 3855 | 52509.6 ± 2617 | 0.5805 |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; SD, standard deviation; BMP-2, bone morphogenic protein-2; ALK3, Activin receptor like-kinase 3; MMP-13, matrix metalloproteinase-13.