Dr Subbaiah bags ASSI award

Banjara Hills: Dr GPV Subbaiah, a renowned spine surgeon had bagged the Association of Spine Surgeons of India (ASSI) Basic Science Award for his contribution to the treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration.  

Intervertebral disc degeneration or degenerative disc disease is a chronic condition and a common cause of back pain. Conventional treatment protocols such as surgeries for treating degenerative disc disease, have failed to effectively address the condition.
Most of the studies in Small Interfering RNAs (SIRNA) have been directed towards the development of cancer treatments. 

Dr GPV Subbaiah’s research has the potential to treat disc degeneration on a molecular level by correcting the biochemical imbalance present within degenerating discs. The therapy can thus potentially change the natural history of this disease without the morbidity associated with conventional surgery. 

After conducting ‘in vivo’ and ‘in vitro’ experiments, the therapy formulated by Dr Subbaiah is now ready to be applied as the basis of a pilot study in humans.