Diurnal Cycle Modeling of Nutrient Transport through the Intervertebral Disc to Prevent Future Degeneration after Transplantation

The intervertebral disc goes through degenerative changes with age, which leads to disc thinning, bulging, or herniation. Spinal fusion treatments are ineffective as they cause quicker degeneration of adjacent discs and fail in nearly 20% of cases, so researchers have turned to tissue-engineering biocompatible intervertebral discs for transplantation.