Landmark biobank project launched
Landmark biobank project launched
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Wednesday, 15, Mar 2006 12:19
British scientists are set to be at the forefront of medical data storage and research after the launch of the new UK Biobank today.
The project, which is funded by the Department of Health, the Medical Research Council, the Scottish Executive, and the Wellcome Trust medical research charity, aims eventually to store scientific data from half a million volunteers aged 40 to 69.
It is hoped that such a huge research base will allow scientists to study in depth how genes, lifestyle and environment interact to cause disease.
Some 3,000 people from south Manchester are to be involved in a pilot scheme, with the project set to go nationwide should it prove a success.
"Nothing like this has been attempted before in such fine detail on such a vast scale," said Professor Rory Collins, UK Biobank's principal investigator.
"It's been known for a long time that the risk of getting a particular disease often involves a combination of environment, lifestyle, genes - and chance - but all studies to date have had limitations, which mean we still don't have a clear picture of how these different elements interact. By being so large and detailed, UK Biobank will be able to study many different risk factors together, each of which may have only modest effects on the likelihood of getting some particular disease."
Volunteers will be asked to answer questions and will have standard measurements taken and give blood and urine samples.
Their medical history will then be followed by researchers for years to come, with the hope that risk factors for certain diseases can be identified.
"Following them through their health records will allow researchers to work out why some develop a particular disease, while others do not," said Sir Alan Langlands, the UK Biobank's chair and former NHS chief executive.
"This should help enormously in the development of new ways to prevent and treat disease."
The first assessment centre is in Altrincham, Cheshire, while eight to ten centres are expected to be up and running by the end of the year.
It is hoped that the new project will help increase scientific understanding of common illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.