Abstract
Back pain affects a person's health and mobility as well as being associated with large health and social costs. Lower back pain is frequently caused by degeneration of the intervertebral disc. Current operative and non-operative treatments are often ineffective and expensive. Nucleus augmentation is designed to be a minimally invasive method of restoring the disc to its native healthy state by restoring the disc height, and mechanical and/or biological properties. The majority of the candidate materials for nucleus augmentation are injectable hydrogels. In this review, we examine the materials that are currently under investigation for nucleus augmentation, and compare their ability to meet the design requirements for this application. Specifically, the delivery of the material into the disc, the mechanical properties of the material and the biological compatibility are examined. Recommendations for future testing are also made.
Highlights
Degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVD) is one of the main causes of lower back pain, which is estimated to affect 80% of adults during their lifetimes,[3] of which 10% will become chronically disabled.[4]
There was a significant decrease in the number of viable cells from week 1 to week 3 for both scaffolds
Live/Dead assay at 1, 4 and 7 days using human nucleus pulposus cells Human degenerated nucleus pulposus cells cultured in hydrogel scaffolds were imaged at 1, 4 and 7 days to identify live and dead cells Human degenerated nucleus pulposus cells seeded on top of scaffolds
Summary
Degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVD) is one of the main causes of lower back pain, which is estimated to affect 80% of adults during their lifetimes,[3] of which 10% will become chronically disabled.[4].
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