Advancements in the treatment of degenerative disc disease

Abstract

Low back pain is number one reason for disability in patients under the age of 45 year and the number two reason to see a doctor after flue in the USA. Early intervention for the treatment of patients with Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) using regenerative medicine or ultra-minimal invasive approaches have gained traction over the past 20 years as alternatives to invasive, costly, and complicated surgical interventions. This review article discusses the pathophysiology of DDD and summarizes the literature encompassing the use of biologic-based therapies for DDD. Articles and patents published in the past 40 years were reviewed, cell-based, bimolecular or gene therapies, as well as companies investigating the utility of allogeneic and tissue-engineered intervertebral discs were included. Additionally, published and unpublished ongoing clinical trials were also included. These exciting non-invasive therapies have encouraging initial positive results across multiple strategies paving the road for a potentially thriving regenerative techniques and increase in the number of DDD clinical trials.