Publications by authors named "Asfi Rafiuddin"
Article Synopsis
- Cell-based therapies using mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) show potential for treating intervertebral disc degeneration, but the timing of treatment's effect on efficacy remains unclear.
- A study using a rat model found that MSCs injected shortly after injury (3 days post-injury) were retained better in the disc and showed a trend towards increased glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content compared to those injected later (14 or 30 days post-injury).
- Despite these findings, the early MSC treatment did not translate to improved disc compressive strength, highlighting the need for further research on how the injury environment influences cell behavior and therapeutic outcomes.
Intervertebral disc disease is characterized by a series of deleterious changes in cellularity that lead to loss of extracellular matrix structure, altered biomechanical loading, and symptomatic pain. At present the "gold standard" of therapy is discectomy -- surgical removal of the diseased disc followed by fusion of the adjacent vertebral bodies. The procedure alleviates pain, but fusion limits range of motion and alters the mechanical loading at other spinal levels, hastening disease at previously unaffected sites.
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