Oxford geneticists awarded major grants for research into arthritis
TWO leading Oxford geneticists have been awarded grants totalling more than £325,000 from the Arthritis Research Campaign to track down the genetic causes of two common forms of arthritis.
Dr John Loughlin, ARC Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Oxford's Institute of Molecular Medicine, has been awarded more than £200,000 for a two-year year grant to support his ongoing work to search for the genes responsible for causing osteoarthritis.
And Dr Matthew Brown, Senior ARC Fellow at the university's Welcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, has been awarded almost £112,000 for similar work into chondrocalcinosis.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition affecting more than one million people in the UK, leading to stiffness and pain in the joints. Sixty per cent of people aged over 64 suffer from OA in at least one joint. OA is no longer regarded as an inevitable part of the ageing process, and there is increasing evidence that genes play a major part in its development.
"Over the past decade, advances in DNA technology means we are in a position to search the human genome for the OA genes," explained Dr Loughlin, whose team is working in collaboration with geneticists at the University of Manchester.
"We and others have already narrowed the search down to ten regions on the human chromosomes. We now plan to examine the ten regions in a detailed and comprehensive manner to determine which are most likely to contain the OA genes."
Chondrocalcinosis, which can cause chronic joint swelling, damage and destruction, and affects ten per cent of people aged over 60, also has a genetic basis. Dr Brown hopes to study the genes believed to be responsible, to try to understand the biological cause of the disease.
Understanding the genetic basis of arthritis conditions could have enormous implications for patients. If scientists can identify those who are at greatest risk of developing disease, they can then be advised about lifestyle changes that may slow down disease progression. It may also lead to the development of more effective clinical treatments, including new drugs.
