Abstract: Degenerative disc disease is a prevalent musculoskeletal disorder in which damaged spinal discs cause pain upon aging, accidental injuries. Spinal discs connect adjacent vertebrae and help in maintaining mobility, flexibility and rotation of spinal cord. Spinal discs also act as shock absorbers. Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is often associated with low back and neck pain, which accounts for disability worldwide. Physical therapy, spinal fusion surgeries reduce severity and symptoms of degenerative disc disease but they are not complete cure for this disease. Current preclinical studies show that mesenchymal stem cells have the capacity to repair degenerative disks by differentiation to chondrocyte-like cells, which produce proteoglycans and type II collagen. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from bone marrow (BM-MSCs), adipose tissue (AD-MSCs) and umbilical cord (UC-MSCs) show potential use in cartilage and intervertebral disc (IVD) repair. Regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy hold great promise for treatment of intervertebral disc (IVD) disease. This review discusses about progression of degenerative disc disease, various types of stem cells, potential use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and embryonic stem cells (ESCs) for the treatment of degenerative disc disease. This review also focuses upon challenges encountered by the application of stem cell therapy for treating degenerative disc disease as well as future perspectives. Keywords: IVD, Stem cell therapy, AF & NP cells, MSCs, Scaffolds, Cell therapy
Delivering Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Collagen Microsphere Carriers to Rabbit Degenerative Disc: Reduced Risk of Osteophyte Formation