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World J Stem Cells. Jan 26, 2015; 7(1): 186-194
Published online Jan 26, 2015. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v7.i1.186
Stem cells for spine surgery
Joshua Schroeder, Janina Kueper, Kaplan Leon, Meir Liebergall
Joshua Schroeder, Kaplan Leon, Meir Liebergall, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Spine Surgery, Hadassah Medical Center, Kiryat Hadassah, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Janina Kueper, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Spine and Scoliosis Service, Hospital for Special Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10021, United States
Author contributions: All authors contributed to this paper.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Joshua Schroeder, MD, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Spine Surgery, Hadassah Medical Center, Kiryat Hadassah, POB 12000, Jerusalem 91120, Israel. schroeder.josh@gmail.com
Telephone: +972-50-4048134 Fax: +1212-606-1746
Received: July 28, 2014
Peer-review started: July 30, 2014
First decision: September 4, 2014
Revised: October 8, 2014
Accepted: October 28, 2014
Article in press: December 16, 2014
Published online: January 26, 2015
Abstract

In the past few years, stem cells have become the focus of research by regenerative medicine professionals and tissue engineers. Embryonic stem cells, although capable of differentiating into cell lineages of all three germ layers, are limited in their utilization due to ethical issues. In contrast, the autologous harvest and subsequent transplantation of adult stem cells from bone marrow, adipose tissue or blood have been experimentally utilized in the treatment of a wide variety of diseases ranging from myocardial infarction to Alzheimer’s disease. The physiologic consequences of stem cell transplantation and its impact on functional recovery have been studied in countless animal models and select clinical trials. Unfortunately, the bench to bedside translation of this research has been slow. Nonetheless, stem cell therapy has received the attention of spinal surgeons due to its potential benefits in the treatment of neural damage, muscle trauma, disk degeneration and its potential contribution to bone fusion.

Keywords: Stem cell, Spine surgery, Spinal cord injury, Peripheral nerve damage, Intervertebral disk regeneration, Fusion, Skeletal muscle regeneration

Core tip: Stem cells have become an increasingly feasible option for the future treatment of spinal disorders. Recent scientific advances have allowed researchers and spinal surgeons alike to investigate the potential of stem cells in the regeneration of degenerated disks, healing spinal cord injury and helping bone growth in spinal fusion.