Evaluating the safety and efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of low back pain

Feb. 10, 2023

Discogenic low back pain (LBP) can cause persistent, chronic pain and disability, and it has an overall prevalence of between 26% and 42%. Pain related to degenerative changes in the intervertebral disk can lead to structural changes, biomechanical instability, inflammation and nerve ingrowth. Standard therapies, including lumbar fusion surgery, can provide pain relief in some individuals, but the effectiveness of those treatment modalities vary and may diminish over time.

Mayo Clinic researchers are examining novel therapies for the treatment of discogenic LBP. These therapies include intradiscal injections of biologic agents such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP), which are believed to have regenerative properties.

Wenchun Qu, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, are actively involved in multiple efforts to study whether degenerative disk disease may respond to treatment with MSCs. Dr. Qu is a physiatrist and pain specialist, and the associate director for Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics in Florida. In an article published in Gene in 2015, Dr. Qu and co-authors shared results from a preclinical study demonstrating that MSCs are very effective in treating the degenerative disk condition in animals.

Dr. Qu and colleagues also conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis identifying and evaluating available literature related to the use of biologic therapies, including MSCs and PRP, as a treatment for discogenic LBP. In the review article, published in Spine Medicine in 2022, Dr. Qu and co-authors acknowledged that the quality of evidence on effectiveness of intradiscal biologics in the studies they examined was very low. But overall, they observed that when appropriate inclusion criteria were applied, limited observational data supported the use of intradiscal biologic agents for the treatment of discogenic low back pain.

Estudio sobre el uso de células madre mesenquimales en el tratamiento de la lumbalgia

En la actualidad, el Dr. Qu y colegas en el Centro de Bioterapéutica Regenerativa de Mayo Clinic en Florida llevan a cabo varios ensayos clínicos que evalúan la seguridad y la eficacia de las células madre mesenquimales en el tratamiento de la lumbalgia, que es el dolor en la parte baja de la espalda.

To address the need for additional high-quality research data evaluating the safety and efficacy of MSCs in the treatment of low back pain, Dr. Qu is currently leading multiple clinical trials.

"We are now testing mesenchymal stem cells in large phase three clinical trials in collaboration with industry sponsors, and we are waiting for the results to be released," says Dr. Qu. "And we are developing the next generation of mesenchymal stem cells, which show the potential to be more powerful in treating degenerative disk disease."