Intervertebral Disc Degeneration and Regeneration: New Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutics: Obstacles and Potential Breakthrough Technologies

Pain and disability secondary to degenerative disc disease continue to burden the healthcare system, creating an urgent need for effective, disease-modifying therapies. Contemporary research has identified potential therapies that include protein-, cellular- and/or matrix-related approaches; however, none have yet achieved a meaningful clinical impact. The tissue-specific realities of the intervertebral disc create considerable therapeutic challenges due to the disc's location, compartmentalization, hypovascularization and delicate physiological environment. Furthermore, the imaging modalities currently used in practice are largely unable to accurately identify sources of pain ostensibly discogenic in origin. These obstacles are considerable; however, recent research has begun to shed light on possible breakthrough technologies. Such breakthroughs include revolutionary imaging to better identify tissue sources of pain. Furthermore, novel molecular therapies have been shown to be able to mediate the progression of degenerative disc disease in some large animal studies, and even provide some insight into suppressing the development of tissue sources of discogenic pain. These potential breakthrough technologies have yet to be translated for clinical use.