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Abstract

Methods and materials are provided for reforming degenerated intervertebral discs of the spine of a vertebrate and in particular the spine of a human. Tissue is evacuated from the nucleus pulposus portion of a degenerated intervertebral disc space, and a biodegradable substrate containing isolated intervertebral disc cells is implanted in the evacuated space for reformation of intervertebral disc tissue. Intervertebral disc cells are provided by digesting intervertebral disc tissue with collagenase and incubating the cells in a medium supplemented with hyaluronidase. The substrate may be bioactive so as to enhance cell function. Substrates include bioactive glass granules, polymer foams and the polymer foams coated with a bioactive gel material produced by a sol-gel process. A polymer foam is dipped into a sol resulting from combining a metal alkoxide precursor with water and acid, residual sol is evacuated from pores of the foam, and remaining sol contained by the foam is allowed to gel. The polymer of the foam may be poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide). A preferred bioactive gel material contains 70% SiO.sub.2, 25% CaO and 5% P.sub.2 O.sub.5.

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First Claim