The preliminary study of the mechanism and efficacy of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug treatment on nerve root type cervical spondylosis

This study aims to evaluate the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein expression in spinal cord dorsal horn of rats with nerve root type cervical spondylosis (NRCS) and the clinical efficacy of different nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) treatment on Chinese patients with NRCS. 24 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into normal health group and NRCS model group, The COX-2 protein expression in spinal cord dorsal horn of rats was detected by immunohistochemical staining after administration. 52 NRCS patients were divided into celecoxib treatment group and diclofenac treatment group to compare the efficacy of different NSAIDs. The efficacy of NSAIDs on NRCS was assessed by visual analog scale (VAS) test. Compared with normal health group, the expressions of COX-2 protein in spinal cord dorsal horn increased significantly than in the NRCS model group. According to the results of VAS test, we found out that celecoxib is more effective than diclofenac sodium. Clinical drug therapy for NRCS can give priority to specific COX-2 inhibitors. Over expression of COX-2 might be a potential pathological mechanism of NRCS.