LITTLE DISC BY THE MOUSE UPDATE

The IVD is composed of a gelatinous nucleus pulposus (NP) in the center, surrounded by the fibrocartilaginous annulus fibrosus (AF), and inferior and superior cartilage endplates ( Fig.

LITTLE DISC BY THE MOUSE UPDATE

The intent of this review is to update knowledge of existing animal models and discuss some of their limitations, but not a metadata analysis. Although animal models help us understand disc biology, disease progression and the quest for therapeutic remedy, the interpretation of information obtained from animal studies should be cautious in extrapolating to humans, as there are many differences between species (detailed information please refer to excellent reviews ( Lotz and Ulrich, 2006 Alini et al., 2008 Daly et al., 2016)). Furthermore, the anatomical differences between the disc of humans and of laboratory animals further hinder progress in identifying an ideal target for the treatment of disc degeneration. The main reason is the complicated nature of the disease: a wide range of etiology, vague definition, unclear pathology, lack of a good animal model, and unclear underlying cellular mechanisms. Despite tremendous efforts in disc research, current treatment strategies are limited and focus on alleviating pain and delaying the time to surgery. Due to aging of the population, disc degeneration is increasing exponentially ( Urban et al., 2003).

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVD) is the main cause of back pain ( Adams and Hutton, 1983 Vos et al., 2012). Low back and leg pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder, and affects 70вЂ“85% of people at some time in their life ( Andersson, 1999 Vos et al., 2012).

Little disc by the mouse