[Cell therapy in treating age-related intervertebral disc pathology]

Pathology of the spine significantly affects the quality of life and is associated with a high rate of disability. Prevalence of the pathology of the spine increases with advanced age. It may have various causes and is associated with a wide spectrum of significant and variable symptoms. Low back pain (back pain) is the most common syndrome. It is mostly caused by the degeneration of the intervertebral discs, associated with unspecific and irreversible structural alterations in the latter. Surgical treatment of degenerative disc disease (DDD) is symptomatic, thus requiring a development of alternative approaches. In the current review, the principles of regenerative cellular therapy and cell replacement therapy of DDD are analyzed. Various cell types utilized as cellular therapy substrates are compared.