Victims of chronic back pain were offered fresh hope with news of successful 'spinal transplant' surgery. Spinal discs from accident victims were transplanted into patients with disc degeneration in the cervical spine, the area nearest the neck. All reported improvements in their mobility and a reduction in symptoms such as weakness of the legs and bladder. A report in The Lancet says the pioneering treatment, carried out in China, offers hope for thousands of sufferers of severe disc problems, particularly young people. They often cannot be helped by existing treatments such as spinal fusion - which surgically joins bones in...