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Herger N, Bermudez-Lekerika P, Farshad M, Albers CE, Distler O, Gantenbein B, Dudli S. Should Degenerated Intervertebral Discs of Patients with Modic Type 1 Changes Be Treated with Mesenchymal Stem Cells? Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23052721. [PMID: 35269863 PMCID: PMC8910866 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23052721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Low back pain (LBP) has been among the leading causes of disability for the past 30 years. This highlights the need for improvement in LBP management. Many clinical trials focus on developing treatments against degenerative disc disease (DDD). The multifactorial etiology of DDD and associated risk factors lead to a heterogeneous patient population. It comes as no surprise that the outcomes of clinical trials on intradiscal mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) injections for patients with DDD are inconsistent. Intradiscal MSC injections have demonstrated substantial pain relief and significant disability-related improvements, yet they have failed to regenerate the intervertebral disc (IVD). Increasing evidence suggests that the positive outcomes in clinical trials might be attributed to the immunomodulatory potential of MSCs rather than to their regenerative properties. Therefore, patient stratification for inflammatory DDD phenotypes may (i) better serve the mechanisms of action of MSCs and (ii) increase the treatment effect. Modic type 1 changes—pathologic inflammatory, fibrotic changes in the vertebral bone marrow—are frequently observed adjacent to degenerated IVDs in chronic LBP patients and represent a clinically distinct subpopulation of patients with DDD. This review discusses whether degenerated IVDs of patients with Modic type 1 changes should be treated with an intradiscal MSC injection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nick Herger
- Center of Experimental Rheumatology, University Hospital Zurich and Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland; (N.H.); (O.D.)
| | - Paola Bermudez-Lekerika
- Tissue Engineering for Orthopaedics and Mechanobiology, Bone & Joint Program, Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR), Medical Faculty, University of Bern, CH-3008 Bern, Switzerland; (P.B.-L.); (B.G.)
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Medical Faculty, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland;
| | - Mazda Farshad
- Department of Orthopaedics, Balgrist University Hospital, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland;
| | - Christoph E. Albers
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Medical Faculty, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland;
| | - Oliver Distler
- Center of Experimental Rheumatology, University Hospital Zurich and Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland; (N.H.); (O.D.)
| | - Benjamin Gantenbein
- Tissue Engineering for Orthopaedics and Mechanobiology, Bone & Joint Program, Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR), Medical Faculty, University of Bern, CH-3008 Bern, Switzerland; (P.B.-L.); (B.G.)
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Medical Faculty, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland;
| | - Stefan Dudli
- Center of Experimental Rheumatology, University Hospital Zurich and Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland; (N.H.); (O.D.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +41-4451-07511
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