Establishment of cervical dynamic and static imbalance models and preliminary study on the mechanism of cervical degeneration in rats

This study aimed to observe dynamically the changes of x-ray, histomorphology appearance and serum inflammatory cytokines of cervical degenerative disease in rat models and to discuss the mechanism of cervical degeneration. Sixty Sprague Dawley rats were randomised into test (n = 45) and control (n = 15) groups, which were randomly subdivided into three groups corresponding to 1, 3 and 6 mo post operation. At the corresponding postoperative stage, cervical x-ray films were acquired, and intervertebral disc space and intervertebral foramen size were measured. Some serum inflammatory cytokines from all rats were quantitatively determined. Then, the morphological change in cervical intervertebral disc specimens stained with hematoxylin and eosin was observed. The results were analysed and compared among groups. Compared to the control group, the cervical x-ray and histomorphology appearance of rats in the test group showed varying degrees of degeneration. Furthermore, the serum IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha and IL-10 in the test group increased significantly at the corresponding postoperative stage (P < 0.05, P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively) compared to the control group. This model of cervical disc degeneration can accelerate imaging and histological degeneration, but it may be accompanied by changes in serum inflammatory cytokines levels.