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Healing Foundation/
BSSH Research Fellowship

     
 

Kindly supported by

The Freemasons Grand Charity

 
     
 
Tenascin-C and the pathogenesis of Dupuytren's disease
October 2007 - December 2010

Name:
Liaquat Suleman Verjee

Email:
l.suleman-verjee@imperial.ac.uk

Liaquat Suleman Verjee
Supervisor :

Professor Jagdeep Nanchahal

Lead Institution :

Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Imperial College London

Start date :

October 2007 – August 2010

Duration : 24 months
Award :

£93,805 over two years

Objectives of Research:
Dupuytren's disease is a common inheritable disorder, mainly affecting the hand. The digits develop progressive flexion contractures and hand function is significantly impaired. The current mainstay of treatment is surgical excision of the affected tissues but recurrence following excision is seen in approximately 40% of patients. Replacing the palmar skin with grafts obtained from a non-palmar site on the body virtually abolishes recurrence. Based on this well-established surgical observation, we have developed a novel in vitro model, which replicates these interactions between skin cells and the contractile cells responsible for Dupuytren's disease. We have also identified a molecule (tenascin-C), which may control the signalling between these cell types.

Potential Benefits of Research to Patients:
Previous attempts to understand the mechanisms involved in Dupuytren's disease have not led to viable therapeutic interventions.

Our aim is to understand the basis of a well-established surgical phenomenon and, based on this knowledge, develop modalities for controlling this common, disabling disorder of the hand.

Educational History and Qualifications:
MRCS Royal College of Surgeons, England 2004
  
MBBS Guys, Kings & St Thomas' 2001
  
BSc (Hons) Guys Hospital 1998
  
A-levels Tonbridge School, Kent 1995
 
     
Our Current Research Strategy
The Healing Foundation Centre at the University of Manchester
The Healing Foundation UK Centre for Burns Research
The Healing Foundation UK Centre for Cleft Research supported by VTCT
The Healing Foundation Programme of Psychological Research
Research Fellowships and Project Awards
 
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