Spine J. 2008 Sep-Oct;8(5):804-9 Authors: Vadalà G, Sobajima S, Lee JY, Huard J, Denaro V, Kang JD, Gilbertson LG BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Current therapies for intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) are aimed at treating the clinical symptoms arising from IDD rather than directly treating the underlying problem. Pathophysiology of IDD is characterized by a progressive decrease in…

Spine J. 2008 Nov-Dec;8(6):888-96 Authors: Sobajima S, Vadala G, Shimer A, Kim JS, Gilbertson LG, Kang JD BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Different strategies to supplement/replenish the disc cell population have been proposed. Recently, adult stem cells have shown promise as a cell source for a variety of tissue engineering and cell therapy applications. A stem cell can…

J Orthop Res. 2008 May;26(5):589-600 Authors: Hiyama A, Mochida J, Iwashina T, Omi H, Watanabe T, Serigano K, Tamura F, Sakai D Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is effective in decelerating disc degeneration in small animals; much remains unknown about this new therapy in larger animals or humans. Fas-ligand (FasL), which is only found…

J Cell Mol Med. 2008 Dec;12(6A):2205-16 Authors: Hoogendoorn RJ, Lu ZF, Kroeze RJ, Bank RA, Wuisman PI, Helder MN New regenerative treatment strategies are being developed for intervertebral disc degeneration of which the implantation of various cell types is promising. All cell types used so far require in vitro expansion prior to clinical use, as…

Neurosurg Focus. 2008;24(3-4):E21 Authors: Jandial R, Aryan HE, Park J, Taylor WT, Snyder EY Regenerative medicine and stem cells hold great promise for intervertebral disc (IVD) disease. The therapeutic implications of utilizing stem cells to repair degenerated discs and treat back pain are highly anticipated by both the clinical and scientific communities. Although the avascular…

Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2008 Apr 15;33(8):870-6 Authors: Vadalà G, Studer RK, Sowa G, Spiezia F, Iucu C, Denaro V, Gilbertson LG, Kang JD STUDY DESIGN: Changes in gene expression profile and cell fusion of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and nucleus pulposus cells (NPC) after coculture were analyzed. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanisms of the…

Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2008 Apr;12(2):83-8 Authors: Richardson SM, Hoyland JA Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common musculoskeletal conditions, and intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is associated with most cases. Although many treatment options are available, they focus on the removal of symptoms rather than repair of the degenerate tissue. However, there…

Clin Neurosurg. 2007;54:122-8 Authors: Tow BP, Hsu WK, Wang JC The normal IVD clinically acts to support and dissipate loads while permitting multiaxial motions of the spine. Its demanding mechanical function is provided by a well-defined microstructural organization and biochemical composition. IVD degeneration is a complex process that disrupts this well-defined organization and biochemical balance.…

Eur Cell Mater. 2008;16:17-25 Authors: Saldanha KJ, Piper SL, Ainslie KM, Kim HT, Majumdar S Minimally-invasive monitoring of regeneration in diseased tissue is an important aspect of stem cell therapy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based tracking of cells labelled with ferumoxides has the potential for non-invasive in vivo detection and longitudinal assessment of implanted cells.…

Arthritis Res Ther. 2008;10(4):R89 Authors: Tapp H, Deepe R, Ingram JA, Kuremsky M, Hanley EN, Gruber HE INTRODUCTION: Adult mesenchymal stem cell therapy has a potential application in the biological treatment of disc degeneration. Our objectives were: to direct adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSC) from the sand rat to produce a proteoglycan and collagen type…