Help us find the cause of osteoarthritis
The Arthritis Research Campaign (arc) is recruiting patients to take part in its £2.2m arcOGEN study to find the genes responsible for causing osteoarthritis.
arcOGEN, the largest study of its kind ever undertaken, involves screening the DNA of 8,000 people suffering from osteoarthritis of the hip and knee and 6,000 healthy people, to compare the differences.
The aim of the collaborative study being carried out in several centres across the UK is to identify the genetic changes, known as polymorphisms, which increase the risk of people developing osteoarthritis.
arc expects that this could lead to several potential breakthroughs such as genetic tests becoming available to predict who is likely to develop the condition, and how severely. Ultimately it could lead to new drugs that slow down disease progression and even prevent osteoarthritis occurring. To read the full press release on this study please click here.
People with osteoarthritis in Edinburgh, London, Newcastle, Oxford and Southampton and who have had or are waiting to have a hip or knee replacement who would be interested in taking part by giving a single blood sample should contact one of the following arcOGEN centres:
Edinburgh:
Belinda Stephen
arcOGEN study
Rheumatic Diseases Unit
Molecular Medicine Centre
University of Edinburgh
Western General Hospital
Crewe Road South
Edinburgh
EH4 2XU
Tel:0131 651 1037
Email: belinda.stephen@ed.ac.uk
London:
Fiona O’Neill
arcOGEN study
Twin Research Unit
St Thomas's Hospital
Lambeth Palace Road
London
SE1 7EH
Tel: 0207 188 55 55
Email: fiona.oneill@gstt.nhs.uk
Newcastle:
Professor Andrew McCaskie
arcOGEN study
Freeman Hospital
Freeman Road
High Eaton
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
NE7 7DN
United Kingdom
Tel: 0191 223 1546 (and leave your contact details)
Oxford:
Bridget Watkins or Denise Brown
arcOGEN study
Nuffield Department of Orthopaedic Surgery (N.D.O.S)
Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre
Windmill Road
Headington
Oxford
OX3 7LD
Tel: Bridget 01865 737 422
Email: bridget.watkins@ndos.ox.ac.uk
OR
Tel: Denise 01865 737 648
Email: denise.brown@ndos.ox.ac.uk
Sheffield:
Sister Diane Swift
arcOGEN Study
Clinical Trials Unit
Sorby Wing
Northern General Hospital
Herries Road
Sheffield
S5 7AU
Tel: 0114 2715270
Southampton:
Lyndsey Goulston or Kate Shepherd
arcOGEN study
MRC Epidemiology Resource Centre
University of Southampton
Southampton General Hospital
Tremona Road
Southampton
Hampshire
SO16 6YD
Tel: 02380 795279
Email: lg@mrc.soton.ac.uk
People not living in the above areas can express an interest in taking part in the study by contacting Fiona O’Neill at St Thomas’s Hospital (see details above). However, these expressions of interest will only be followed up if the centres fail to recruit sufficient numbers from among local participants.
