Lauren Tierney ( Three Minute Thesis )
School of Life Sciences
Predicting response to cell therapy to treat cartilage damage
Cartilage damage is common and can progress to Osteoarthritis ( OA ), a painful and debilitating condition that reduces one ’ s quality of life . OA is frequently associated with older patients , but cases are increasing amongst the young . This is problematic because currently the most effective treatment for OA is total joint replacement , but this is not suitable for young or highly active individuals . What is offering hope is , the use of cell-based therapies to repair damaged cartilage . This procedure alleviates symptoms and delays the need for further treatment in many patients , however , not all patients respond as well , and it is not known why . Therefore , this project aims to explore patient genes , to see if any particular genes are associated with a more favourable outcome following treatment ; this may aid in understanding the biology behind cartilage repair , as well as predicting who may be more suited to this therapy in the future .
Postgraduate Conference 2020 Page 43