Ethical issues concenrning tissue engineering with special attention to the intervertebral disk

Severe lower back pain, often associated with the degeneration of intervertebral disks, is one of the most frequent medical problems in the population of Western industrialized societies. Existing treatments do not always provide a satisfactorily answer to the patients problem. The development of a regenerative therapy could have a profound impact on the quality of life of a large number of patients. However, certain ethical sensitivities are linked to the individual scientific stages in the development of this new technology such as animal experimentation. In addition, regenerative medicine could have an impact on certain anthropologicalreference frames or the fundamental anthropological reference frames could influence the awareness and acceptability of this new technology. The ethical issues and the fundamental anthropological frameworks need to be investigated as earlier experience with the introduction of novel scientific developments such as gene therapy have made us aware that the ultimate success and acceptance of a medicine and its products will in theend not only depend on the superior technical and medical performance, but also on the manner ethical concerns are answered during the development and in their application.   

Keywords:Intervertebral disk

Disciplines:Evolutionary biology, General biology, Social medical sciences

Project type:PhD project