Researchers have uncovered how one of the most common causes of back pain takes hold — and, using fish, found hints that existing drugs might slow it.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Bristol studied intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD), the wearing down of the cushions between spinal bones. They found that disruptions to collagen IX, a protein that stabilizes disc fibers, drive the disease — along with changes in fat metabolism, the mTOR growth pathway, phosphate handling and vitamin A signaling that lead to mineral buildup that hardens the spine. The work was published August 6, 2026 in Communications Biology.
How they found it
The team bred zebrafish lacking a working collagen IX gene. As the fish aged, their spines developed problems mirroring human disc disease — including fused vertebrae and abnormal mineralization — giving researchers a living model of the process.
Toward non-surgical options
Encouragingly, a bisphosphonate (an existing osteoporosis drug) blocked the mineral buildup, and food restriction plus fat-metabolism-dampening drugs reduced spinal fusions. “For decades, surgery has been the only real answer for disc disease,” said Erika Kague; the findings “point to several ways of slowing it down.” The work is early and in fish, but it flags concrete drug targets for a condition with few options.