Abstract

In this talk Paul Freeman will describe the pathophysiology and principles of treatment of intervertebral disc disease in dogs, a very common and naturally occurring cause of often severe and sometimes irreversible spinal cord injury. Treatment of this disease is controversial, and the focus of Paul’s research is an attempt to answer some of those controversies and provide an improved framework for management of such cases. The talk will attempt to illustrate the current state of evidence and some of the difficulties in interpreting this, in particular with respect to the most severe grade of injury. Electrical stimulation has been used for many years in human spinal cord disease, and currently Paul is involved in a project which aims to develop a novel mode of stimulation with the potential to cause spinal cord regeneration, although the engineering challenges are not insignificant. Paul will finish with a brief mention of a further project in collaboration with Prof George Malliaras’ lab, aimed at an improved delivery of chemotherapeutic agents into brain tumours.’