A novel therapy for treatment of degenerative spinal conditions

Low back (LBP) pain and Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP) represent a common condition linked to musculoskeletal diseases, which affect aged population and represent a major social and economic problem in developed countries. LBP is more common among people aged 40--80 years. The overall number of individuals affected is expected to increase as the population ages. Globally, about 40% of people have LBP at some point in their lives, with estimates as high as 80% of people affected in the developed world. LBP and CLBP in adults doubled in the last decade, continue to increase dramatically in the aging population, with a significant impact on functional ability resulting in significant pain, disability, restriction of activities such as sport, and an inability to work. Economic burden owing to the management of these conditions is significant.

Spinal fusion is a surgical procedure to treat these disease conditions and spinal instability. When physiotherapy and conservative approaches fail, the pain and quality of life of patient can be significantly worsened. Fusion involves surgically joining two or more vertebrae through instrumentation and bone grafts, reducing the normal mobility of the spine which may help patients to feel better and may improve their quality of life. The current gold standard treatment uses sources of healthy bone from other regions of the patient, but this procedure holds several drawbacks: increased surgical time, greater costs, donor-site post-operative pain and morbidity, and limited availability of patient's bone especially for long spinal segment fusions.

Over the years, donor bone and types of artificial biomaterials including metallic, ceramic, and polymers have been used clinically to improve vertebral fusion, offering mechanical stability. However, they lack the bone forming properties of the patients' own bone. Moreover, in patients suffering from osteoporosis, these implants are problematic to be implanted with sufficient stability. The gold standard graft to accelerate bone fusion currently still remains the commercial sources or autologous bone graft harvested from the hip or collected during the operation with issues of low levels of long term successful outcomes.

We have developed an innovative approach which can provide potential solutions for spinal repair with enhanced successful outcomes. Using a patented and novel biomagnetic cell based approach, we can control the way bone forms in the spine enabling precise and increased bone formation for fusion of the spine. This Innovate program will enable us to test the feasibility of our therapy for spinal applications.