Authors: Matteo Formica Luca Cavagnaro Carlo Formica Milena Mastrogiacomo Marco Basso Alberto Di Martino
Publish Date: 2015/08/14
Volume: 24, Issue: 11, Pages: 2377-2386
Abstract
Intervertebral disc degeneration is a common disease that usually starts from the third decade of life and it represents a significant cause of socioeconomic problems The accepted surgical treatment for disc degeneration is disc removal and vertebral fusion or in selected cases intervertebral disc arthroplasty Several studies have demonstrated the ability of platelet rich plasma PRP to stimulate cell proliferation and extracellular matrix regeneration However literature results are still limited and more studies are required to clarify the role of PRP in the prevention or in the treatment of degenerative disc disease The aim of this review is to summarize and critically analyze the current preclinical evidence about the use of PRP in intervertebral disc degenerationLiterature search was performed through various combinations of the following keywords Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Platelet Rich Plasma PRP Intervertebral disc regeneration Papers included in our review cover the period between 2006 and 2014 The PRISMA 2009 checklist was followedAt the end of the review process 12 articles were included in our final manuscript including 6 “in vitro” and 6 “in vivo” studies All the included studies lead to positive preclinical results No standardization of methodological analysis was observedIt is not possible to draw definitive evidence about the use of PRP in IVD regeneration We advise a proper standardization of the methodological analysis in order to compare the available data and achieve definitive results This should be the cornerstone for future clinical applications
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