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Research project

Establishment of a National Network on Musculoskeletal Ageing

Project overview

Our overall aim is to establish a new national network which will underpin a step change in musculoskeletal ageing research capacity and strategy, by identifying: key tractable research priorities; developing an integrated multi-disciplinary grouping to address the identified research gaps; providing a platform to disseminate best practice; supporting Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to build research capacity and ensure longevity to current UKRI investments; and coordinating an ongoing programme of innovative studies to identify, develop and translate findings from our discovery science to clinical impact. Crucially the network will contribute to delivering the government Grand Challenge target of 5 more years of independent living by 2035, by identifying approaches to maintain mobility in old age. The network will bring together the scientific excellence of the three principal applicants. Focusing on the leading chronic non-communicable disorders of bone, muscle and joint (osteoporosis, sarcopenia, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis), the integration of these groups will galvanize a truly bench to bedside approach to provide a strong evidence base for health policy, underpinning a step change in UK musculoskeletal ageing research capability/capacity, and promoting increased healthspan.

Staff

Lead researchers

Professor Cyrus Cooper

Prof Rheumatology Clinical Epidemiology
Research interests
  • Key research contributions have been:
  • discovery of the developmental influences which contribute to the risk of osteoporosis and hi…
  • demonstration that maternal vitamin D insufficiency is associated with sub-optimal bone miner…
Connect with Cyrus

Email: cc@mrc.soton.ac.uk

Other researchers

Professor Nicholas Harvey

Director/Professor
Research interests
  • Lifecourse epidemiology of osteoporosis and fragility fractures
  • Understanding mechanism and development of novel interventions across lifecourse to prevent f…
Connect with Nicholas

Email: nch@mrc.soton.ac.uk

Collaborating research institutes, centres and groups

Research outputs

Evaluation and interpretation of latent class modelling strategies to characterise dietary trajectories across early life: a longitudinal study from the Southampton Women's Survey
Kathryn V. Dalrymple, Christina Vogel, Keith M. Godfrey, Janis Baird, Mark Hanson, Cyrus Cooper, Hazel Inskip & Sarah Crozier, 2023, British Journal of Nutrition, 129(11), 1945-1954
DOI: 10.1017/S000711452200263X
Type: article
Expected benefits and budget impact from a microsimulation model support the prioritisation and implementation of Fracture Liaison Services
Rafael Pinedo-Villanueva, Edward Burn, Christopher Maronga, Cyrus Cooper & M Kassim Javaid, 2023, Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 38(4), 499-511
DOI: 10.1002/jbmr.4775
Type: article
Increased fracture risk in Parkinson's disease - An exploration of mechanisms and consequences for fracture prediction with FRAX
M. Schini, P. Bhatia, H. Shreef, H. Johansson, N C Harvey, M Lorentzon, J A Kanis, O Bandman & E V McCloskey, 2023, Bone, 168
DOI: 10.1016/j.bone.2022.116651
Type: article
Sex-specific associations between cardiovascular risk factors and physical function: The Gambian Bone and Muscle Ageing Study
Ayse Zengin, Micheal O. Breasail, Camille Parsons, Landing M. Jarjou, Ramatoulie E. Janha, Ann Prentice, Cyrus Cooper, Peter R. Ebeling & Kate Ward, 2023, Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, 14(1), 84-92
DOI: 10.1002/jcsm.13069
Type: article
Biochemical Markers of Musculoskeletal Health and Aging to be Assessed in Clinical Trials of Drugs Aiming at the Treatment of Sarcopenia: Consensus Paper from an Expert Group Meeting Organized by the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO) and the Centre Academique de Recherche et d'Experimentation en Sante (CARES SPRL), Under the Auspices of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for the Epidemiology of Musculoskeletal Conditions and Aging
Aurélie Ladang, Charlotte Beaudart, Jean-Yves Reginster, Nasser Al-Daghri, Olivier Bruyère, Nansa Burlet, Matteo Cesari, Antonio Cherubini, Mario Coelho da Silva, Cyrus Cooper, Alfonso J Cruz-Jentoft, Francesco Landi, Andrea Laslop, Stefania Maggi, Ali Mobasheri, Sif Ormarsdottir, Régis Radermecker, Marjolein Visser, Maria Concepcion Prieto Yerro, René Rizzoli & Etienne Cavalier, 2023, Calcified Tissue International, 112(2), 197 - 217
DOI: 10.1007/s00223-022-01054-z
Type: review
Recent sarcopenia definitions - prevalence, agreement and mortality associations among men: findings from population-based cohorts
Leo Westbury, Charlotte Beaudart, Olivier Bruyère, Jane A. Cauley, Peggy M. Cawthon, Alfonso Jose Cruz-Jentoft, Elizabeth Curtis, Kristine Ensrud, Roger A. Fielding, Helena Johansson, John A. Kanis, Magnus K. Karlsson, Nancy E. Lane, Laetitia Lengelé, Mattias Lorentzon, Eugene McCloskey, Dan Mellström, Anne B. Newman, Claes Ohlsson, Eric Orwoll, Jean Yves Reginster, Eva Ribom, Bjorn E. Rosengren, John T. Schousboe, Eric J. Shiroma, Nicholas Harvey, Elaine Dennison & Cyrus Cooper, 2023, Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, 14(1), 565-575
DOI: 10.1002/jcsm.13160
Type: article
A study of diet in older community-dwelling adults in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from the Southampton Longitudinal Study of Ageing (SaLSA)
Faidra Laskou, Gregorio Bevilacqua, Leo D. Westbury, Ilse Bloom, Pritti Aggarwal, Cyrus Cooper, Harnish P. Patel & Elaine Dennison, 2023, Frontiers in Nutrition, 9
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.988575
Type: article