ReviewJOR spine2025
Therapeutic Approaches for Enhancing Spinal Fusion in Low Back Pain: A Review With a Focus on the Elderly.
Review in JOR spine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent cause of disability worldwide, particularly among the elderly, with degenerative spinal conditions often necessitating surgical intervention. Spinal fusion remains a definitive treatment for patients unresponsive to conservative therapies, yet its success is challenged by age-related factors such as osteoporosis, diminished stem cell function, and vascular insufficiency. Methods: This review examines current and emerging strategies to improve spinal fusion outcomes for elderly patients by analyzing advances in biomaterials, growth factor delivery systems, cell-based regenerative therapies, surgical innovations, and some novel approaches. Results: Advances in biomaterials, including bioactive scaffolds, 3D-printed constructs, and hybrid grafts, provide structural and biological support for bone formation. Growth factor delivery systems, particularly controlled-release formulations of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), improve osteoinduction while mitigating adverse effects. Cell-based regenerative therapies utilizing mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and extracellular vesicles (EVs) offer promising osteogenic and immunomodulatory potential. Furthermore, minimally invasive surgical techniques and robotic-assisted procedures provide additional options for enhancing spinal fusion in elderly patients. Novel approaches targeting cellular senescence, epigenetic modulation, and mitochondrial dysfunction are emerging to counteract age-related impairments in bone formation. Conclusion: Despite significant advancements, challenges such as optimizing biomaterial integration, mitigating inflammatory responses, and ensuring long-term stability remain. Future research should leverage precision medicine, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology to enable patient-specific fusion strategies. A multidisciplinary approach will be essential to improve spinal fusion outcomes for aging populations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.