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Institute of Medical Sciences

Musculoskeletal: News

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Arthritis Research UK Tissue Engineering Centre of Excellence

Cosimo De Bari, David Reid and Willie Miller
Professor Cosimo De Bari, Professor David Reid and Willie Miller

Arthritis Research UK and the University of Aberdeen are launching a new experimental tissue engineering centre which aims to regenerate bone and cartilage by using patients’ own stem cells to repair the joint damage caused by osteoarthritis. The exploratory research has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of osteoarthritis, which causes pain and disability to eight million people in the UK.

Professor Cosimo De Bari, the principal investigator for the Arthritis Research UK Tissue Engineering Centre in Aberdeen, said: “Every patient has their own ‘repair kit.’ Whereas joint replacement uses metal and plastic to replace the severely damaged joint, we’re trying to treat at an earlier stage to assist the human body to repair itself. Keyhole and minimally invasive operations for early arthritis have been in development for some years and we propose to improve upon these techniques and work towards more widely available treatments. This requires research at all levels of the process, from laboratory to bedside. We hope that elements of this approach will reach the patient in the operating theatre within the first five years.”

The centre is part of a collaborative project headed by the University of Newcastle.

For the full story of Aberdeen’s role in the centre, please visit: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/details-10739.php

Arthritis Research UK Open Evening

Arthritis Research UK and the University hosted a public meeting on arthritis research being performed in Aberdeen, on 27th September 2011 in the Suttie Centre, Foresterhill Health Campus. Arthritis Research UK is the leading UK charity focused on all forms of arthritis and is a major funder of musculoskeletal research here at Aberdeen. The aim of the evening was to initiate the formation of an Arthritis Research UK group in Aberdeen. David Reid, Professor of Rheumatology chaired the meeting, which consisted of talks by Professors Miep Helfrich (Chair of Bone Cell Biology), Cosimo De Bari (Professor of Translational Medicine) and Gary Macfarlane (Professor of Epidemiology). Professor Helfrich highlighted key work in the laboratory, while Professor De Bari discussed the potential uses of stem cells and Professor Macfarlane talked about improving treatments for chronic pain sufferers. The evening was very well received by members of the public who attended.

For more information about Arthritis Research UK, please visit: http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/

Recent Grants Awarded

Dr. Henning Wackerhage and Professor Cosimo De Bari have been awarded a project grant worth over £600,000 for 3 years from the MRC to investigate the role of Yap in muscle stem cells. The project is in collaboration with a team headed by Dr. Pete Zammit at Kings College London and will begin in January 2012.

Dr. Lynne Hocking and Professor Miep Helfrich have been awarded £20,000 over 2 years from the Paget's Association to investigate the mechanism by which Sequestosome-1 mutations cause Paget's disease. The work will be performed by PhD student, Eman Azzam.

Drs. Julie Crockett and Lynne Hocking have been awarded £122,661, from Arthritis Research UK, for "Identification and functional analysis of polymorphisms within the RANK signalling pathway associated with low BMD."  The project will run for 2 years from 1st January 2011.

Dr. Gareth Jones and Professor Gary Macfarlane, along with colleagues from Southampton, Huddersfield, Brighton, Warwick and Glasgow, were awarded £666,650 from Arthritis Research UK.  The project, which begins in January 2011 for 4 years, will investigate "Maintained physical activity and physiotherapy in the management of distal arm pain".

Recent PhD Awards

Congratulations to David Mellis who successfully defended his PhD thesis in January 2011. His thesis was entitled "The study of RANK mutations associated with the disease of osteoclast dysfunction" and focused on studying the disease mechanisms behind early onset pagetic like disease and osteopetrosis.

Congratulations to Debbie Wilkinson who successfully defended her PhD thesis in October 2010. Her thesis was entitled "Visualisation of Osteoclast Membrane Domains" and focused on bone resorbing cells called osteoclasts and the events involved in the formation and maintenance of the specialised membrane domains they form when they become activated.

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