Significant improvement in pain and function seen at 36 months<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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TUESDAY, March 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) — An injection of allograft disc tissue into the spine alleviates pain associated with degenerative disc disease, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology, held from March 4 to 9 in Phoenix.<\/p>\n
Douglas Beall, M.D., and Islam Fayed, D.O., both from Clinical Radiology of Oklahoma in Edmond, and colleagues report on the 36-month follow-up of an open-label extension to the VAST randomized trial in which 218 patients with one- or two-level degenerative lumbar disc disease and refractory chronic low back pain were randomly assigned to investigational allograft or saline. Fifty patients (46 treated with allograft) had follow-up data available.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that in the allograft-treated group, the mean change from baseline in the visual analog scale score at month 36 was \u00e2\u0088\u009235.35. Patients in the allograft-treated group had clinically meaningful benefits through 36 months in both pain and function, with 60 percent reporting \u00e2\u0089\u00a550 percent improvement in pain and more than 70 percent having a \u00e2\u0089\u00a520-point reduction in the Oswestry Disability Index.<\/p>\n
“Existing treatment for chronic low back pain due to degenerative disc disease is often ineffective or the effects are short-lived,” Beall said in a statement. “We need better treatments for this condition since conservative care is not providing the long-term outcomes that patients deserve. Injectable allograft treatment might be the answer for many people.”<\/p>\n
Beall disclosed financial ties to VIVEX Biologics, which funded the study.<\/p>\n
Press Release<\/a><\/p>\n