Regenerative medicine research into incontinence awarded €9.5m

A UCL-led research project, which will use revolutionary cell therapy to try and establish a cure for faecal incontinence, has been awarded €9.5m in EU funding. Faecal incontinence, sometimes known as bowel incontinence, is a debilitating condition which affects an estimated 67 million people in Europe. It is often caused by damage to the muscles around the anus and commonly occurs in women after childbirth. The funding has been awarded to a consortium of 13 organisations across nine countries called AMELIE (Anchored Muscle cELls for IncontinencE). The regenerative medicine project will focus on taking the patient's own muscle cells, loading them onto specially designed polymer beads and implanting them into the damaged muscle to promote regeneration and restore normal function. Professor Richard Day (UCL Medicine), who is co-ordinating the project, said: "We are very excited by the prospect of the AMELIE project and the potential benefits that may arise from the new therapeutic approach being investigated. " We look forward to working with the exceptional consortium of academics, clinicians, industry and charity partners from across Europe to develop our pioneering regenerative medicine approach for treating this debilitating condition.