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5.3.2010 |
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Request for teeth |
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27.1.2010 |
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Financial Support to keep the Information centre – A Plea from the heart |
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17.11.2009 |
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3rd AKU conference in Siena |
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12.8.2009 |
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Clinical evaluation programme |
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10.6.2009 |
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EU health ministers tackle rare diseases |
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12.5.2009 |
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Blue Badge holders UK road atlas |
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26.2.2009 |
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Call to develop national plan for treatment of rare diseases |
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27.1.2009 |
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Tissue donation |
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EXCHANGE STUDENT RESEARCHES AKU
My name is Francesco Secciani and I come from Siena, Italy where I am studying pharmacy. I decided to come to Liverpool as an ERASMUS exchange student to conduct my thesis project for a few reasons.
The first was my desire to improve my knowledge of English, second to improve my personal experiences by experiencing a different culture to that in Italy and the third so that I could learn a lot of things about being in a different working environment.
Before coming to Liverpool I had no knowledge of Alkaptonuria. By spending a lot of time working in the laboratory and reading the literature I became more interested in the subject and learnt day by day more and more concepts.
My study was to investigate the effects of HGA on collagen; in particular, I focused on trying to understand whether the deposition of HGA in collagenous tissues is spontaneous or alternatively requires the action of cells.
My research was extremely interesting and exciting. I was able to understand some of the pathological mechanisms in Alkaptonuria, which increased my enthusiasm for my project.
The results have suggested that cellular action is required for deposition of pigment or “ochronosis”. My colleagues at the University of Liverpool are particularly interested in showing the fundamental importance of certain enzymes produced by cells, highlighting a link between HGA and collagen.
My research work in Liverpool has opened my eyes to an extremely fascinating and important area of research for the whole community, and to the commitment and passion with which my colleagues spend most of their day seeking answers to questions about Alkaptonuria and its complexity.
There is promising research, first into fully understanding the whole process of Alkaptonuria and second into looking for a cure or treatment.
It has been a very enjoyable and exciting experience and following my direct involvement and enthusiasm for the project, I hope that the passion of my colleagues for their work produces further promising results for the good of the whole Alkaptonuria community.
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