First signs of arthritis cure seen by Irish researchers

The first signs of a cure for arthritis have been seen in research involving Irish scientists.

The debilitating disease which affects more than 400,000 people in this country and more than 70 million EU citizens is normally treated by surgery to replace joints or life-long pain management.

But the work at NUI Galway and other European universities in a €9m EU-funded project is using stem cells from patients themselves that are in plentiful supply. The researchers are using cells derived from body fat and injecting it into diseased joints to see how well it can regenerate the cartilage whose degeneration causes the pain of osteoarthritis.

“From the clinical trials conducted so far, we have seen the first signs of finding a cure for this truly incapacitating disease which affects so many. Using the patient’s own stem cells, we have been able to treat their diseased joints and relieve their suffering and burden of pain,” said Professor Frank Berry, scientific director of the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) at NUI Galway.

“While we are still in the early stages of clinical trials, the results so far are extremely positive, such that the use of stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis could become a reality for patients within the next five years.”

REMEDI is a NUIG-led partnership, also involving University College Cork and NUI Maynooth, and funded by Science Foundation Ireland.

Meanwhile, a treatment developed by Cork Cancer Research Centre has won top prize in the Pfizer-UCC Innovation Through Teamwork Awards, which foster partnership between academia and industry.

It involves delivering a powerful electrical pulse directly to the site of a tumour, making it temporarily porous and allowing up to 1,000 times the chemotherapy normally delivered to a tumour to be absorbed.

The EMIGRE project which studied emigrants’ reasons for leaving Ireland and their experiences abroad received runners-up prize at Monday night’s event.