Tag: Imperial Clinical Trials Unit

HOPE for Hand Osteoarthritis

In conversation with Lidia Nigrelli, Research Assistant, Osteoarthritis Research Group working within the Centre for Inflammatory Disease

Lidia Nigrelli

What is your research project about and what stage are you at?

Hand osteoarthritis is a condition which can cause painful, swollen and stiff joints in the hands, it can affect the finger joints and thumb joints. Having hand osteoarthritis can make it harder for individuals to carry out everyday tasks. Hand osteoarthritis affects around 2 million people in the UK but there are currently no drugs that slow the progression of the disease or that target pain. Women are at a higher risk for developing hand osteoarthritis than men, and previous work has shown that factors like the menopause may play a role in how hand osteoarthritis develops in women.

Are the statistics from Covid-19 vaccine trials understood?

Dr Suzie Cro, Research Fellow at the Imperial Clinical Trials Unit and the HEALTHY STATS public involvement group share insights from their recent online discussion of COVID-19 vaccines:

Right now, in the UK and across the world, vaccines for Covid-19 are being rolled out. You may have already received, or be expecting a vaccination offer sometime soon. Vaccines are thought to be our main hope to control the Covid-19 pandemic. Their use has only been possible following robust and rigorous clinical trials, which have demonstrated that they meet high safety and effectiveness standards set by the UK medicines regulator (the MHRA).