A Survey of Approaches to Intervertebral Disc Regeneration

The intervertebral discs of the spine are one of many small body parts that one will never put any thought into until they start to fail, at which point pain and disability ensure that they are never far from mind. One section of the large regenerative medicine community is focused on the spine and its supporting tissues; this open access paper is a review of approaches intended to repair damaged and worn intervertebral discs, from the expected stem cell therapies to more esoteric and novel options. This is all work in progress, and sadly it remains the case that benefits for patients as a result of these lines of work are still modest and unreliable for many of the possible forms of deterioration. Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common causes of activity limitations, neurological deficit, and disability in affected individuals. Intervertebral disc (IVD) disorders contribute to LBP and neck pain in multiple ways with few available treatments. New approaches are urgently needed for the treatment of degenerative disc disease (DDD). In the past decades, diverse strategies have been developed aiming to ameliorate IVD degeneration and promote its regeneration. While considerable progress has been achieved in treatment and regeneration of nucleus pulposus (NP) in the center of the disk, much less is achieved in that of the surrounding annulus fibrosus (AF). As a crucial supporting component in the biomechanical constitution of IVD, the structural and mechanical inte...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs