Arthritis sufferers to benefit from new research in Birmingham
Scientists in Birmingham are hoping to come up with alternatives to steroids – drugs widely used to treat rheumatoid arthritis but which can cause serious side-effects.
Dr Stuart Cooper, a senior lecturer and consultant endocrinologist in the Clinical Division of Medical Sciences at the University of Birmingham, has been awarded almost £230,000 over three years by the Arthritis Research Campaign (arc) to carry out the research, which could have major implications for thousands of arthritis sufferers.
Glucocorticoids, also known as anti-inflammatory steroids, have been used extensively to suppress inflammation in many types of arthritis affecting adults and children.
Although they are highly effective, their major drawback is that if given at high doses over long periods they can reduce bone strength and increase the risk of fracture.
Now the team at Birmingham University will carry out a combination of laboratory and clinical studies to examine why the drugs have these side effects.
“Glucocorticoids increase the risk of osteoporosis due to their effects on bone-forming cells called osteoblasts and bone-resorbing cells called osteoclasts,” explained Dr Cooper.
“We recently demonstrated that the level of steroids within bone, rather than blood, is the critical factor regulating the effects of glucorticoids. These levels are determined by a particular enzyme that converts inactive steroids to their active forms, and this enzyme in bone-forming cells increases with age, glucocorticoid treatment and inflammation.”
The team will examine the impact of this enzyme on the function of bone-forming and bone-resorbing cells, its effect on osteoporosis caused by inflammatory arthritis and by aging, and its role in the adverse side-effects of therapeutic steroids.
“We hope our project will enable better prediction of side-effects in people given glucocorticoids and help develop new glucocorticoids with reduced effects on bone,” added Dr Cooper.
The Arthritis Research Campaign is the leading funder of research into musculo-skeletal conditions in the UK. Scientists and clinicians in Birmingham are currently in receipt of almost £2m worth of grants.
