September 2010

Dr. Fackson Mwale from the Lady Davis Institute
Monday, 27 September 2010, 6:00 P.M.
McGill University
Ruttan Room


Degenerative disc disease begins in the central nucleus pulposus
region and is implicated as a major component of spine
pathology.

Currently, the two major clinical procedures for treating disc
degeneration are disc excision and spinal fusion. Although these
procedures offer relatively good short-term clinical results in
relief of pain, in many instances they are disappointing because
of altered spinal mechanics that leads to subsequent degeneration
at adjacent disc levels.

Biological repair of the degenerate disc would be the ideal
treatment and recent advances in tissue engineering offer the
unique opportunity to repair, or at least retard, further
degeneration of the nucleus pulposus.

Dr. Fackson Mwale is head of orthopaedics research at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research and Assistant Professor of Surgery at McGill University in Montreal. He is an internationally recognized scientist in the field of orthopaedics and spine research who served as co‐chair of the 11th Canadian Connective Tissue Conference in Montreal, Quebec. May 26‐28, 2005. Dr. Mwale won the new investigator recognition award from the Orthopaedic Research Society in 1999.

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