Sex differences in N-palmitoylethanolamide effectiveness in neuropathic pain associated with lumbosciatalgia.

Background: Response to N-palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) appear to be influenced by hormonal changes.

Objective: To evaluate sex differences in the effectiveness of PEA.

Method: Patients with neuropathic pain resulting from lumbosciatalgia were assigned to conventional treatment plus PEA or conventional treatment.

Intervertebral disc repair by autologous mesenchymal bone marrow cells: a pilot study.

Background: Degenerative disc disease may cause severe low-back pain, a large public health problem with significant economic and life quality impact. Chronic cases often require surgery, which may lead to biomechanical problems and accelerated degeneration of the adjacent segments. Cell-based therapies may circumvent these problems and have exhibited encouraging results in vitro and in animal studies.