Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and current treatments are mostly ineffective. This project aims to use RNA-seq techniques with cellular resolution on nerve, joint, muscle, and fascia tissues from thoroughly phenotyped individuals with CLBP undergoing spine surgery to gain new insight into CLBP. Our central hypothesis is that transcriptional changes in nerves and pathological tissues drive human CLBP.
 

Within the Hofstetter lab, research coordinators will consent patients undergoing multi-level thoracic or lumbar fusion with low back pain lasting more than three months for CLBP research. Patients who agree to participate will complete a baseline questionnaire about their back pain and undergo simple quantitative sensory testing during their pre-operative appointment. During the participant's surgery, the research coordinator will collect discarded tissues and RNA-sequence. 
 

Our project will provide a new understanding of CLBP and identify targeted treatment options based on human molecular neuroscience. It will also demonstrate how using human tissues can advance the discovery, validation, and development of new therapies for other pain disorders.

 

This study is supported by the NIH​​