Lower back pain is something most of us will experience at some point. In fact, about 8 in 10 people will deal with it during their lives. It can be mild and go away on its own, or it can become long-lasting and seriously affect daily life.
While many treatments focus on easing pain for the short term, a new study suggests that a drug already in use for other purposes might help treat one of the root causes of lower back pain—especially pain related to aging.
The drug is called Navitoclax, and it targets what are known as senescent cells. These are old or damaged cells that stop dividing and no longer work properly, but instead of dying off, they stay in the body and cause problems. As we age, these cells build up and have been linked to many age-related diseases, including back problems.
This study, published in the journal eLife, focused on a specific type of senescent cell called a senescent osteoclast. Osteoclasts are normal cells that help break down old bone so it can be replaced with new bone. It’s part of how our skeleton stays strong and healthy.
But when these osteoclasts become senescent, they no longer help with bone maintenance. Instead, they start to cause damage.
The research team, led by Dayu Pan, found that these aging osteoclasts can damage the thin layer of bone between the discs in the spine, called the endplates.
When these endplates become weak and porous, it creates a pathway for new nerves to grow into places they normally wouldn’t. This extra nerve growth can cause pain because it makes the spine more sensitive.
To test their ideas, scientists studied older mice with spine problems similar to those seen in humans. They found that mice with more senescent osteoclasts had worse spine damage and showed more signs of pain.
When the team treated the mice with Navitoclax, they saw improvements: the number of senescent cells dropped, the mice moved more easily, and they showed less sensitivity to pain.
More importantly, the structure of the bones improved too. The endplates were less porous, meaning there was less room for new nerves and blood vessels to grow in. This suggests that the pain relief was not just about easing symptoms but actually reducing one of the main sources of the pain.
The researchers also looked deeper to see if clearing these aging cells would affect the tiny blood vessels and nerves that had grown into the endplates. In the mice treated with Navitoclax, there were fewer new nerves and blood vessels—another sign that this drug might help reduce the physical causes of chronic back pain.
So what does this mean for people with lower back pain? While the results are exciting, it’s still early. This study was done in mice, and more research is needed to see if the same results will happen in humans.
The next step is to run clinical trials to test whether Navitoclax is safe and effective for treating back pain in people. The drug is already known for its use in targeting cancer cells, so scientists have some information about how it works in the body—but using it to treat back pain would be a brand-new application.
Still, this research gives hope for a future where back pain can be treated by addressing the actual causes, not just the symptoms. If this approach works in humans, it could lead to long-term relief for many people suffering from chronic back issues due to aging.
This study also fits into a larger wave of new discoveries about pain and how our bodies change as we get older. Other recent studies are exploring drugs that relieve nerve pain, gentler ways to manage knee pain, and even why people with red hair feel pain differently.
For now, the discovery around Navitoclax and senescent cells gives researchers and patients a new path to explore—and a possible new way to fight one of the most common and frustrating health problems people face today.
If you care about pain, please read studies that vegetarian women have higher risk of hip fracture, and these vitamins could help reduce bone fracture risk.
For more information about wellness, please see recent studies that Krill oil could improve muscle health in older people, and Jarlsberg cheese could help prevent bone thinning disease.
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