Gel for the spine

New hydrogel restores damaged intervertebral discs

Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+

In a pilot clinical trial, participants reported a sharp decrease in pain and a significant improvement in quality of life. The procedure is simple and minimally invasive and can help millions of patients with chronic pain to return to normal life.

Scientists from the USA at the annual conference of the Society of Interventional Radiology presented the hydrogel Hydrafil, which in a minimally invasive way restores damage during degeneration of intervertebral discs, writes Eurekalert. The treatment available today is limited to physiotherapy and painkillers, in severe cases, surgical intervention is performed to remove or replace the disc.

Hydrafil was tested on 20 patients aged 22 to 69 years who lived with chronic lower back pain due to damage to the intervertebral disc.

The treatment consists in heating the hydrogel to a certain temperature, and then using a needle injected into the affected area. There it cools down to body temperature and forms an implant with the same biomechanical properties as a conventional disk.

A video with a schematic image of the procedure can be viewed here – VM.

The effectiveness of therapy was evaluated six months after treatment. The level of pain on a ten-point scale decreased from 7 to 2 points. When asked how daily pain interferes with doing everyday things, the participants gave an average of 6 points instead of 48 before treatment.

The scientists intend to confirm the results on a larger sample of patients, after which Hydrafil may receive permission for use in clinical practice.

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