A Study on COMP and CTX-II as Molecular Markers for the Diagnosis of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

Figure 2

MRI findings showed increasingly significant degeneration of the acupunctured segment in rats over time ( in each group). 1(C) and 1(E): 1-week flowing acupuncture in the control and experimental groups. 2(C) and 2(E): 2-week flowing acupuncture in the control and experimental groups. 3(C) and 3(E): 3-week flowing acupuncture in the control and experimental groups. 4(C) and 4(E): 4-week flowing acupuncture in the control and experimental groups. 5(C) and 5(E): 5-week flowing acupuncture in the control and experimental groups. 6(C) and 6(E): 6-week flowing acupuncture in the control and experimental groups. 7(C) and 7(E): 7-week flowing acupuncture in the control and experimental groups. 8(C) and 8(E): 8-week flowing acupuncture in the control and experimental groups. The rats were sacrificed in each week until week 8, and all the injured segments were examined by MRI. The MRI findings showed that the severity of IVDD (the nucleus pulposus (NPC) structure changed from a uniform and bright white to uneven and black, the boundary between NPC and annulus fiber disappeared, the MRI T2 phase changed from high signal to low signal, and the height of the intervertebral disc decreased progressively) increased over time from week 1 to week 8.