Scientists in Birmingham awarded major grant by arthritis charity
SCIENTISTS in Birmingham have been awarded a major grant of £134,021 by leading medical research charity the Arthritis Research Campaign to help them find new treatments for rheumatoid arthritis.
More than 600,000 people in the UK are affected by RA, a crippling auto-immune disease which leads to inflammation in the lining of the joint, causing swelling, pain and stiffness.
The three-year ARC grant has been awarded to team of researchers led by Dr Mike Salmon, ARC Senior Fellow, and Reader in Experimental Rheumatology at the Division of Immunobiology and Infection in the University of Birmingham's medical school.
For the past five years Dr Salmon has been looking at ways to block the progression of the disease, concentrating on lymphocyte (a type of cell) differentiation and function.
"Inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis is maintained by a complex mixture of cells," explained Dr Salmon. " We have shown that these cells are actively prevented from dying by the normal process of cell death and removal that should lead to inflammation being cleared up.
"This block in cell death is caused by a specific type of messenger-chemical called interferon-beta produced by tissue cells within the joint. What we want to do in this research project is to identify the precise way in which this works, in order to define suitable targets for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic inflammatory diseases."
