Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research
Description: Research context: We are living longer but not healthier, with adults in the UK on average now spending the last decade of life in poor health. Decline in our musculoskeletal system (muscle, bone, cartilage and tendon), and diseases of the joints such as Osteoarthritis (OA) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), are major contributors to ill health in old age. The annual cost to the NHS of musculoskeletal decline is over £5 billion. Doing nothing about the current situation is an expensive and untenable option.
The Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research aims to understand the age-related loss of musculoskeletal function and the role played by lifestyle (physical inactivity and obesity) in influencing this process. Physical activity and diet-based interventions are tested by the Centre to ensure these are effective in older adults. The Centre also includes motivational psychology research to develop approaches that encourage people to adopt healthy lifestyles.
Aims and objectives:
In the second 5 years of the Centre the research will expand to investigate the processes that cause a person to progress from healthy old age to developing arthritis. This will open up new ways to prevent and treat arthritis.
The objectives of the Centre are:
1. To increase understanding of the processes influencing the rate of ageing of the musculoskeletal system and how these increase susceptibility to frailty and disease;
2. To develop and test interventions to improve musculoskeletal health;
3. To develop strong national and international networking to create a significant Healthy Musculoskeletal Ageing research, training and dissemination facility;
4. To increase use of existing patient cohorts and data to support our aims;
5. To work with key policy and health practice influencers, industry and PPI groups to find routes to translation of our research in to health benefits.
Potential applications and benefits:
The potential benefits of the research carried out by the Centre are significant as age-related loss of musculoskeletal function has major health consequences and reduced ability to stay in employment and maintain independence. Applying the knowledge we acquire to understanding the link between ageing and the development of arthritis will increase the impact of our work further, potentially revealing novel routes to the prevention or treatment of arthritis. Applying our exercise interventions to those with established disease can help reduce pain and fatigue and improve quality of life.
Contribution to the Arthritis Research UK strategic focus (2015-2020).
The research in CMAR will contribute to the strategic focus of Arthritis Research UK, helping to understand the link between ageing and arthritis and how lifestyle and pharmacological approaches can delay the former to prevent the latter. For example, if Centre research reveals that the processes that drive normal ageing also contribute to the development of arthritis, then some of the new drugs being tested to slow the ageing process may also help prevent development of arthritis, bringing us closer to a Cure. Work on the benefits of exercise for reducing pain and fatigue in adults with OA or RA will transform patient quality of Life. Together the Centre's research programme will thus help meet ARUK's "Prevent, Transform, Cure" strategy.
This summary was drafted with patients in our arthritis PPI group R2P2. They were supportive of research that could give advice on how to exercise safely, fear of making their pain or disease worse with exercise was common. They were supportive of any treatments that could delay or prevent disease, especially drug repurposing. Overall they were supportive and thought it made sense to expand our programme toward disease pathogenesis and to work with other centres to share knowledge. On the subject of PPI group involvement, they suggested that the group supporting the Centre should include healthy elders too, so we will do this
Funder: Medical Research Council
Amount: £849,600
Funding type: research
Start date: 2017-09-30
End date: 2023-06-29
Funded outputs count: 521
Funder award ID: MR/P021220/1
OpenAlex ID: G5149977125