Experimental chemonucleolysis with chymopapain in canine intervertebral disks.

The present study describes the radiological and histological changes in the canine intervertebral disk after the experimental injection of chymopapain as the chemical reagent, and determines the appropriate dose of the enzyme for treatment of herniated disks. By radiography, narrowing of the disk space was observed within 2 weeks after the injection of chymopapain, and recovered to 74.1% in the 0.1 mg group, 61.1% in the 1.0 mg group and 71.7% in the 10.0 mg group at 12 weeks. The disk space recovery showed a tendency to delay with aging. Microscopically, proteoglycan positive matrix appeared and the nuclear space was reduced in each disk at 2 weeks after chymopapain injection. The nucleus pulposus contained an irregularly-defined mass consisting of clusters of degenerated notochordal cells surrounded by proliferated chondrocytes and collagen matrix. In each disk at 12 weeks after chymopapain injection, the center of the nucleus pulposus was replaced by fibrocartilage tissue. In the disk into which 10.0 mg chymopapain was injected, the nuclear space filled with dense fibrocartilage tissue without a regenerated matrix component and narrowing of the disk were maintained. It is suggested that canine chemonucleolysis with 10.0 mg of chymopapain reduces the interdiskal pressure. This treatment may therefore relieve the signs and symptoms of herniation of the nucleus pulposus, and may effect chemical disk decompression.