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01-08-2013 | Editorial

Antibiotics a cure for back pain, a false dawn or a new era?

Authors: John O’Dowd, Adrian Casey

Published in: European Spine Journal | Issue 8/2013

Excerpt

The recent publication in this journal of papers by Albert and colleagues [1, 2] from Denmark suggesting that low grade anaerobic bacterial infection may be the underlying cause of significant persistent chronic back pain in a well-defined group of patients has precipitated an unprecedented response in the medical and lay media. In the midst of claim and counterclaim, these studies represent a significant and substantial change in our understanding of the pathophysiology of back pain in some patient groups, and the importance of this should not be lost amidst the negative, unstructured and unscientific response to this study. …

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Albert HB, Lambert P, Rollason J, Sorensen JS, Worthington T, Pedersen MB, Nørgaard HS, Vernallis A, Busch F, Manniche C, Elliott T (2013) Does nuclear tissue infected with bacteria following disc herniations lead to Modic changes in the adjacent vertebrae? Eur Spine J 22(4):690–696PubMedCrossRef

Stirling A, Worthington T, Rafiq M, Lambert PA, Elliott TS (2001) Association between sciatica and Propionibacterium acnes. Lancet 23:357(9273):2024–2025

Albert HB, Manniche C, Sorensen JS, Deleuran BW (2008) Antibiotic treatment in patients with low-back pain associated with Modic changes Type 1 (bone oedema): a pilot study. Br J Sports Med 42(12):969–973PubMedCrossRef

Albert HB, Manniche C (2007) Modic changes following lumbar disc herniation. Eur Spine J 16(7):977–982PubMedCrossRef

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Albert HB, Briggs AM, Kent P, Byrhagen A, Hansen C, Kjaergaard K (2011) The prevalence of MRI-defined spinal pathoanatomies and their association with Modic changes in individuals seeking care for low back pain. Eur Spine J 20(8):1355–1362PubMedCrossRef

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Title: Antibiotics a cure for back pain, a false dawn or a new era?
Authors: John O’Dowd
Adrian Casey
Publication date: 01-08-2013
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: European Spine Journal / Issue 8/2013
Print ISSN: 0940-6719
Electronic ISSN: 1432-0932
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-013-2893-3

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