Neurosurgery. 2010 Sep 23; Authors: Okada S, Maeda T, Saiwai H, Ohkawa Y, Shiba K, Iwamoto Y BACKGROUND:: Reports on ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) of the lumbar spine have so far been limited. OBJECTIVE:: To evaluate surgically documented cases of lumbar OPLL at our facility to clarify its characteristics and analyze clinical…

Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2003 Jan 15;28(2):186-93 Authors: Gruber HE, Hanley EN STUDY DESIGN: There have been many advances over the past decade in understanding and experimentally modulating biologic aspects of intervertebral disc cell function. An overview of the current state of this biologic research is presented. OBJECTIVES: To provide clinicians with a review of…

Biomaterials. 2003 Sep;24(20):3531-41 Authors: Sakai D, Mochida J, Yamamoto Y, Nomura T, Okuma M, Nishimura K, Nakai T, Ando K, Hotta T Intervertebral disc degeneration is considered to be one of the major causes of low back pain. Despite this irreversible phenomenon, attempts to decelerate disc degeneration using various techniques have been reported. However, to…

Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2003 Dec;3(8):1209-14 Authors: Gruber HE, Hanley EN Recent advances in tissue engineering have led to promising new approaches for the biologic treatment of disc degeneration. At present, there is no effective therapy for disc degeneration, a condition which results in large healthcare and socio-economic costs. This article will examine the current…

Gene Ther. 2004 Jan;11(1):34-41 Authors: Ito H, Goater JJ, Tiyapatanaputi P, Rubery PT, O’Keefe RJ, Schwarz EM Deficiencies in skeletal tissue repair and regeneration lead to conditions like osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and degenerative disc disease. While no cure for these conditions is available, the use of human bone marrow derived-mesenchymal stem cells (HuMSCs) has been shown…

Orthop Clin North Am. 2004 Jan;35(1):85-93 Authors: Brisby H, Tao H, Ma DD, Diwan AD Disc degeneration is considered a major source of pain in patients with chronic low back pain. Novel strategies to cure or decrease the symptoms and increase the patient’s quality of life and function are under development. Until recently conservative treatment…

Spine J. 2004 Nov-Dec;4(6 Suppl):348S-353S Authors: Risbud MV, Shapiro IM, Vaccaro AR, Albert TJ Low back pain due to disc degeneration is one of the largest health problems faced in this nation when judged by lost work time and direct as well as indirect costs. Many experimental methods are being explored to treat or to…

Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2005 Jan;(430):219-26 Authors: Zhang YG, Guo X, Xu P, Kang LL, Li J We sought to determine whether transplanted allogeneic bone mesenchymal stem cells can survive and increase the amount of proteoglycans in intervertebral discs. We used the rabbit intervertebral disc as a model, creating three groups: an uninjected control group,…

J Orthop Sci. 2005;10(1):112-8 Authors: Mochida J Degeneration of lumbar intervertebral discs is a major cause of low back complaints, an irreversible occurrence with no currently available treatment. Furthermore, various surgical procedures can accelerate disc degeneration. On the other hand, recent experimental studies on disc cells have demonstrated an important role for the nucleus pulposus…