Vitamin D Receptor gene polymorphisms and plasma levels are associated with lumbar disc degeneration.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, published as an observational study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms and VDR levels with lumbar disc degeneration (LDD).

Moreover, immunohistochemistry (IHC) was implemented to evaluate VDR expression in lumbar degenerated disc and normal disc.

Why It Was Studied

TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assay was utilized to probe VDR gene polymorphisms including the FokI (rs2228570), ApaI (rs7975232) and TaqI (rs731236) in 454 patients with LDD and 485 controls.

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was used to detect plasma VDR levels.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 454 patients taking part.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were teenagers, young adults, adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

What Was Measured

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was used to detect plasma VDR levels.

The patients with LDD were divided into three subgroups (subgroup 1: lumbar disc herniation; subgroup 2: lumbar spinal stenosis; subgroup 3: lumbar spondylolisthesis) to further probe the association of plasma VDR levels and VDR gene polymorphisms and LDD.

The subject headings attached to it are Biomarkers, Case-Control Studies, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Immunohistochemistry, Intervertebral Disc, Intervertebral Disc Degeneration and Lumbar Vertebrae.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is an observational study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 454 patients.

With several hundred people or more, it is a fairly large study for this kind of research.

The publication is from 2019 (Scientific reports), a journal based in England.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.