AUTHOR=Lie Marie Udnesseter , Pedersen Linda Margareth , Heuch Ingrid , Winsvold Bendik , Gjerstad Johannes , Hasvik Eivind , Nygaard Øystein Petter , Grotle Margreth , Matre Dagfinn , Zwart John-Anker , Nilsen Kristian Bernhard 

TITLE=Low Back Pain With Persistent Radiculopathy; the Clinical Role of Genetic Variants in the Genes SOX5, CCDC26/GSDMC and DCC

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2021.757632

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2021.757632

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p>In a recently published genome-wide association study (GWAS) chronic back pain was associated with three loci; <italic>SOX5, CCDC26/GSDMC</italic> and <italic>DCC</italic>. This GWAS was based on a heterogeneous sample of back pain disorders, and it is unknown whether these loci are of clinical relevance for low back pain (LBP) with persistent radiculopathy. Thus, we examine if LBP with radiculopathy 12 months after an acute episode of LBP with radiculopathy is associated with the selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs); <italic>SOX5</italic> rs34616559, <italic>CCDC26/GSDMC</italic> rs7833174 and <italic>DCC</italic> rs4384683. In this prospective cohort study, subjects admitted to a secondary health care institution due to an acute episode of LBP with radiculopathy, reported back pain, leg pain, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), were genotyped and followed up at 12 months (<italic>n</italic> = 338). Kruskal-Wallis H test showed no association between the SNPs and back pain, leg pain or ODI. In conclusion, LBP with radiculopathy 12 months after an acute episode of LBP with radiculopathy, is not associated with the selected SNPs; <italic>SOX5</italic> rs34616559, <italic>CCDC26/GSDMC</italic> rs7833174 and <italic>DCC</italic> rs4384683. This absent or weak association suggests that the SNPs previously associated with chronic back pain are not useful as prognostic biomarkers for LBP with persistent radiculopathy.</p>