Eurodisc


Intervertebral Disc Degeneration:

Interplay of Age,
Environmental and Genetic Factors

Institute of Biology, N.C.S.R. Demokritos, Athens, Greece; Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Oxford University, Oxford, UK; RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry, UK;
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Eindhoven, The Netherlands; University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany

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Objectives
Achievements
Progress
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Consortium


Significant Scientific Achievements
  • A finite element model of disc responses to load taking into account osmotic effects and tissue swelling pressure, can predict the stress peaks which occur when degenerate discs are loaded.

  • Responses of disc cells to mechanical signals has found to be affected by the osmotic environment suggesting that the identical mechanical load will elicit different cellular responses with variation in hydration (ie between morning and evening, or between young and old discs)

  • Genotype studies of twins together with quantitative measures of degeneration have found a number of candidate genes strongly associated with specific degenerative changes

  • Genotype studies of back pain patients have found several candidate genes associated with herniation and pain and with development of spinal stenosis, possibly providing diagnostic possibilities if verified on larger population samples.

  • Nutrient pathways and cell metabolic activity has been measured in vivo in patients undergoing routine surgery for treatment of disc herniation using a custom-built microelectrode system and found to be low in 23/25 patients examined, suggesting such patients are unsuitable for future cell-based therapies.

  • Cells from herniated and degenerate discs show signs of senescence and loss of proliferative capacity indicating that these cells are an unsuitable source of cells for cell-based therapies.

  • Angiogenesis into degenerate discs is promoted by changes in matrix composition, the physical environment and particularly mechanical stress which promotes pleotrophin expression.



    Further Reading:

    More details of the EURODISC study
    EURODISC publications

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