The Intervertebral Disc

I. Basic Biology of the Intervertebral Disc.- Overview of the anatomy and physiology of the spinal unit; innervation and vascular status of the disc tissues.- Proteoglycans of the nucleus pulposus, annulus fibrosus and cartilage endplate.- Collagens and other matrix proteins of the nucleus pulposus, annulus fibrosus and cartilage endplate.- Development of the intervertebral disc.- Regulation of disc cell function by oxygen tension.- Osmo- and pH regulation of disc cells.- Effects of growth factors and cytokines on disc cell activity and function.- Microenvironmental regulation of extracellular matrix synthesis by disc cells.- Regulation of tissue mineralization in the disc.- Effects of mechanical forces on disc cell function.- II. Intervertebral Disc Disease.- Epidemiology of degenerative disc disease.- Genetic basis of degenerative disc disease.- Pathogenesis of the degenerative process.- Back pain and disc degeneration.- Imaging modalities for studying the disc pathology.- Current surgical treatments for treating degenerative disc disease.- Total disc replacement.- Non-surgical treatment of degenerative disc disease / back pain.-  III. Repair and Regeneration of the Intervertebral Disc.- Use of large animal models to study disc disease.- Small animal models of disc disease.- Use of knockout and transgenic mouse models in disc research.- Organ culture model for studies of the intervertebral disc.- Use of stem cells to regenerate the disc.- Gene therapy approaches for disc regeneration.- Enhancing disc repair by ultrasound, growth factors and other devices.- Hydrogels and other biomaterials to repair the degenerate disc.- Repair of the annulus fibrosus.- Current issues facing successful tissue engineering of the disc

Irving M. Shapiro BDS, PhD Makarand Risbud, Ph.D.

Division of Orthopaedic Research, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA