2023, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (31): 5078-5084

Research and advance in intervertebral disc annulus fibrosus repair

Liu Xin1, 2, Sun Tianze1, 2, Zhang Jing1, 2, Zhang Wentao1, 2, Li Zhonghai1, 2   

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Lumbar intervertebral disc herniation is a common clinical disease. Its incidence is increasing year by year, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients and brings huge economic losses to the families of patients and society. At present, it is considered that the destruction of the integrity of intervertebral disc fibrous annulus is an important factor affecting the occurrence and development of lumbar disc herniation. Therefore, it is of great significance to restore the integrity of the annulus fibrosus for the treatment and prevention of lumbar disc herniation.
OBJECTIVE: To review the research advance in intervertebral disc annulus repair in recent years.
METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and WanFang databases were searched systematically, with the key words “intervertebral disc, annulus fibrosus, repair, regeneration” in Chinese and English. Relevant articles published in each database in the last five years were collected.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In recent years, some progress has been made in the repair and regeneration of annulus fibrosus in and outside China. Although traditional physical repair has some shortcomings, it is still the main way of clinical treatment, while the application of tissue engineering in annulus fibrosus repair is only in the experimental stage and has not been widely used in clinical practice. There are many ways to repair intervertebral disc annulus fibrous, but the best way needs extensive animal and clinical trials to verify its safety and efficacy. The study on tissue engineering of annulus fibrosus repair has broad clinical application prospects.

Key words: annulus fibrosus, intervertebral disc, tissue engineering, biotherapy, hyaluronic acid, radiofrequency thermocoagulation technology, repair, regeneration