Most patients with insults to the spinal cord or central nervous system suffer from excruciating, unrelenting, chronic pain that is largely resistant to treatment. This condition affects a large percentage of spinal cord injury patients, and numerous patients with multiple sclerosis, stroke...

Radiation myelopathy is a rare but devastating injury to the spinal cord that usually results from an excessive radiation dose. In this chapter, we discuss the traditional and current understandings of the pathogenesis of this injury. A distinction is made between radiation damage, which...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) has remained a challenging area for scientists and clinicians due to the adverse and complex nature of its pathobiology. To date, clinical therapies for debilitating SCI are largely ineffective. However, emerging research evidence suggests that repair of SCI can be...

Regeneration of injured CNS neurons was once thought to be an unachievable goal. Most patients with significant damage to the spinal cord suffer from permanently impaired neurological function. A century of research, however, has led to an understanding of multiple factors that limit CNS...

Injury to the spinal cord disrupts ascending and descending axonal pathways and causes tissue damage with a subsequent limited cellular regeneration. Successful treatment would encompass the restoration of the cytoarchitecture, homeostasis and function all in dear need. Transplantation‑based...

The remarkable need for bone tissue replacement in clinical situations, its limited availability and some major drawbacks of autologous (from the patient) and allogeneic (from a donor) bone grafts are driving researchers to search for alternative approaches for bone repair. In order to develop...

Lower back pain is a common disorder that often requires bony spinal fusion for long‑term relief. Current arthrodesis procedures use bone grafts from autogenous bone, allogenic backed bone or synthetic materials. Autogenous bone grafts can result in donor site morbidity and pain at the donor...

The management of intramedullary spinal cord tumors (IMSCT) is primarily concerned with the preservation of existing neurologic function. To this end, clinical scientists are continually seeking tools and techniques to improve the safety and efficacy of tumor resection and control. Further...

As our understanding and ability to direct the differentiation of stem cells grows, specific targets and strategies to incorporate them are essential to define. Any cell‑based transplantation strategy is fundamentally a combination therapy as either phenotypic or trophic mechanisms may...

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a disease of the discs connecting adjoining vertebrae in which structural damage leads to degeneration of the disc and surrounding area. Degeneration of the disc is considered to be a normal process of aging, but can accelerate faster than expected or...

During spinal fusion procedures, bone grafts are placed to promote bone healing and to provide stability. The autologous graft is the current clinical standard of care due to its ability to initiate bone formation and because it poses no risk of rejection; however, it has drawbacks such as...

Advancement of in vitro osteogenesis, or the production of bone, is a complex process that has significant clinical implications. Surgical intervention of several spinal disorders entails decompression of the spinal cord and nerves which can lead to subsequent biomechanical instability of the...