You never know if what u read on the web is fact or fiction. The following post I found elsewhere, sounded almost too good to be true. But I found a scientific extract recently (bottom) that gives it a lot of credibility.
I then did a Pubmed search under "intervertebral disc regeneration" and discovered that a lot of impressive research and testing has taken place over recent years. There would probably be mainstream biologic treatments happening today except that surgeons and medical industry have been (and will remain) much more motivated by the huge profit levels made from surgery as well as the metal bits and pieces that cost thousands.
extract of post...."I was turned down by all the ADR surgeons based on how many levels I needed and the levels on the lumbar spine. I went from daily goofballs Vicoden ES to no pain meds within 5 weeks of my first procedure and I had 4 levels done. So going from almost inoperable, besides fusion, to pain free and med free with in less then 6 weeks. Without this procedure I would have a 3 level fusion right now and even thou I needed a second treatment I am planning a surf trip to Sumatra Indonesia in April and enjoyed surfing in Hawaii all summer last year."
J Biomater Sci Polym Ed. 2008;19(9):1219-37.
Fibrin promotes proliferation and matrix production of intervertebral disc cells cultured in three-dimensional poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffold.
Sha'ban M, Yoon SJ, Ko YK, Ha HJ, Kim SH, So JW, Idrus RB, Khang G.
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Abstract
Previously, we have proven that fibrin and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) scaffolds facilitate cell proliferation, matrix production and early chondrogenesis of rabbit articular chondrocytes in in vitro and in vivo experiments. In this study, we evaluated the potential of fibrin/PLGA scaffold for intervertebral disc (IVD) tissue engineering using annulus fibrosus (AF) and nucleus pulposus (NP) cells in relation to potential clinical application. PLGA scaffolds were soaked in cells-fibrin suspension and polymerized by dropping thrombin-sodium chloride (CaCl(2)) solution. A PLGA-cell complex without fibrin was used as control. Higher cellular proliferation activity was observed in fibrin/PLGA-seeded AF and NP cells at each time point of 3, 7, 14 and 7 days using the MTT assay. After 3 weeks in vitro incubation, fibrin/PLGA exhibited a firmer gross morphology than PLGA groups. A significant cartilaginous tissue formation was observed in fibrin/PLGA, as proven by the development of cells cluster of various sizes and three-dimensional (3D) cartilaginous histoarchitecture and the presence of proteoglycan-rich matrix and glycosaminoglycan (GAG). The sGAG production measured by 1,9-dimethylmethylene blue (DMMB) assay revealed greater sGAG production in fibrin/PLGA than PLGA group. Immunohistochemical analyses showed expressions of collagen type II, aggrecan core protein and collagen type I genes throughout in vitro culture in both fibrin/PLGA and PLGA. In conclusion, fibrin promotes cell proliferation, stable in vitro tissue morphology, superior cartilaginous tissue formation and sGAG production of AF and NP cells cultured in PLGA scaffold. The 3D porous PLGA scaffold-cell complexes using fibrin can provide a vehicle for delivery of cells to regenerate tissue-engineered IVD tissue.
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