Muscle loss therapies

Dr Andrew Solomon and Dr Mark Lewis (UCL EDI) in conjunction with Professor Pierre Bouloux (UCL Centre for Neuroendocrinology) have received a £50,000 award from the Ipsen Fund in order to examine how anabolic hormones and growth factors induce muscle development early in life and how this process could be harnessed for developing treatments for muscle loss related to ageing, known as sarcopenia, and neuromuscular disorders.

Dr Lewis said: "The post-pubertal growth spurt is associated with dynamic changes in growth hormone and testosterone. In turn, this has a major influence on craniofacial muscle maturation and craniofacial form. Therefore, this research will be of particular interest to biomaterial and tissue engineers, as well as craniofacial and developmental scientists here at the EDI and further afield."

• Links
• UCL Eastman Dental Institute
• UCL Centre for Neuroendocrinology