Bioplasty for vertebral fractures: preliminary results of a pre-clinical study on goats using autologous modified skin fibroblasts

Summary The debate is still ongoing about the long term effects of the mininvasive vertebral augmentationtechniques and their usefulness in treating more complex cases where a bone inducing effect morethan a merely bone substitution would be suitable, such as the vertebral fractures in youngpatients. We previously developed a clinically relevant gene therapy approach using modifieddermal fibroblasts for inducing bone healing and bone formation in different animal models. Theaim of this study is to show the feasibility of a minimally invasive percutaneous intrasomatic exvivo gene therapy approach to treat thoracolumbar vertebral fractures and anterior column bonedefects in a goat model. Introduction Thoracolumbar fractures are more frequent in men (2/3) than in women (1/3) and peakbetween the ages of 20 and 40 years. (1) Approximately, 160 000 patients/year sustain aninjury of the spinal column in United States. (2) The most common mechanism of injury ofthe thoracolumbar spine involves flexion/distraction forces causing eccentric compression ofthe vertebral bodies and discs resulting in anterior wedge compression fractures.