5. Conclusions
revealed reduced HIZ or disc protrusion, chronic discogenic LBP, pain
Our clinical study confirmed the safety and tolerability of administering matrilin-3-primed ASC spheroids with HA for patients with chronic discogenic LBP. Notably, six (75%) out of the eight patients showed significant improvements in both the VAS pain and ODI scores. T2-weighted MRI further revealed reduced HIZ or disc protrusion in half of these improved patients, with sustained pain relief over six months. These encouraging results advocate for progression to phase II randomized clinical trials.