Christchurch researchers awarded HRC funding

Cherries and gout, vitamin C and cancer, and printing cells to repair damaged bone.

Christchurch researchers won Health Research Council (HRC) grants in the funding round announced today to explore the possibilities of three potentially life-changing new treatments.

Tart cherry and gout study

Rheumatologist Professor Lisa Stamp received more than $144,000 to study the effects of tart cherry concentrate on blood uric acid, levels of which are elevated in patients with gout. Cherry concentrate has been shown to not only reduce blood urate but also prevent painful attacks of this common form of arthritis. Professor Stamp will use HRC funding to investigate the effects of various doses of tart cherry concentrate in order to determine the best dose to use in a large clinical study. She will also examine whether participants tolerate and adhere with tart cherry concentrate treatment.

Vitamin C and cancer study

Many cancer patients seek alternative therapies for their disease, with the administration of high-dose vitamin C (ascorbate) being commonplace. This practice continues despite a lack of evidence as to its efficacy and a lack of understanding of how vitamin C might be of benefit. Free radical expert Professor Margreet Vissers has done many studies on vitamin C, and in both laboratory studies and the analysis of human cancer tissue has found evidence that the more ascorbate a cancerous tumour contains, the slower it grows. With the $100,000 HRC feasibility study grant, she will collect tumour tissue from colorectal cancer patients, before and after surgery, to determine whether vitamin C accumulates in the tumour tissue and whether this affects its biology in a way that could slow cancer growth and spread.

3D printing cells in gel to repair bone.

Dr Khoon Lim is part of the Christchurch Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering (CReATE) Group, which is developing technologies for 3D-printing human cells as an alternatives to orthopaedic implants for bone and cartilage. Current treatments for damaged bone often result in complications such as incomplete healing. In recent years, the regenerative medicine approach which involves combining human cells and biological ‘growth factors’ within tissue-engineered scaffolds has emerged as a viable future treatment. These growth factors are particularly important as they are critical in telling cells how to survive and proliferate in the repaired tissue. Dr Lim’s research project will develop a growth factor delivery system based on hydrogels that can deliver multiple growth factors sequentially in a controlled manner, as well as over multiple time frames in order to successfully regenerate bone with blood supply.

Any requests for additional information or clarification, contact University of Otago, Christchurch Communication Manager Kim Thomas on 027 222 6016.

ENDS

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