Study is first to look at a medicine's ability to regenerate discs
With the most common chronic pain in the back, Virginia Commonwealth University researchers are testing whether injections of a sort of "biological putty" can help people suffering chronic lower-back pain.
The substance, a growth factor called osteogenic protein 1 or OP-1, which can help regenerate or repair damaged discs, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for investigational and humanitarian use.
"This is this first study of its kind where we are actually looking at a medication's ability to repair a disc, help regenerate it and reduce painful symptoms," said Dr. Michael J. DePalma, medical director of the VCU Spine Center. DePalma is principal investigator for the study at VCU, one of seven sites where the industry-funded research is being conducted.
Candidates for the research study "are typically patients whose lifestyle has been really altered because they can't function," DePalma said. "They can't do things on a daily basis they really need to do. They are missing time from work. They can't take care of chores. They can't sleep at night because of the back pain."