Listen below to piece broadcast on RTE Radio 1 Drivetime on 25th April ’19

A drug that promises to strengthen bones in elderly and adults that have suffered bone weakness, loss or damage is under development at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin.

Laboratory experiments have shown that a new therapy can maintain the activity of a master bone repair gene which is highly active in children, in adults and even the elderly.

The research was conducted by Dr Arlyng Gonzalez Vazquez, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the RCSI Tissue Engineering Research Group, and led by Fergal O’Brien Professor of Bioengineering and Regenerative Medicine in the RCSI Department of Anatomy and Head of the Tissue Engineering Research Group. (both researchers pictured above).

Prof O’Brien is also Deputy Director of the Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research (AMBER) Centre.