Swansea blood clotting research team gets £1.2 million grant boost

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Cutting-edge research into blood clotting by a team based at Morriston Hospital has been given a £1.2 million boost.

ABMU BloodThe Haemostasis Biomedical Research Unit (HBRU) is located in the hospital’s Emergency Department.

Led by Emergency Medical Consultant Professor Adrian Evans, the team is made up of 10 highly-qualified multi-disciplinary professionals.

They investigate new biomarkers (a form of blood test) that could provide clinicians with more effective means of screening patients at risk of developing thrombo-embolic disease such as stroke.

When patients are already ill, biomarkers can help with the diagnosis of the disease and its severity, and monitor the effectiveness of treatment.

The work is a partnership between ABMU and Swansea University – involving the Colleges of Engineering and Medicine – along with industry.

Professor Evans said: “The unit is the only one of its kind in the UK and Europe, and we believe it to be unique in the world.

“It brings the sciences of engineering and medicine together to help solve difficult clinical problems.”

In 2003 the old Morriston NHS Trust brought in Professor Evans to set up and develop a biomedical research unit and programme, and to develop new biomarkers.

Later he and Professor Rhodri Williams of Swansea University’s College of Engineering formed a successful collaboration to develop and enhance it further.

That partnership culminated, in 2010, with the unit being awarded £1.5 million by the National Institute of Social Care and Health Research (NISCHR) to determine how certain disease conditions such as stroke, heart disease, cancer, sepsis and trauma can affect coagulation, or blood-clotting.

Professor Evans said: “These conditions, which are common in South Wales, cause abnormal coagulation – they can cause your blood to clot too thickly or not enough in some circumstances.

“A lot of tests don’t pick up these abnormalities because they can be difficult to detect.

“We develop new biomarkers using new and conventional techniques to try to discover why people have these clotting problems or treatment failures.”

As well as screening for people potentially at risk, biomarkers can improve diagnosis when people are already ill, assess the level of the disease and monitor how effective the treatment is.

Professor Evans said: “Around 80-90 per cent of these diseases affect the blood system in some way, as do the treatments.

“For stroke and heart disease, anticoagulants such as aspirin and warfarin are used to thin the blood to prevent recurrent clots so we are assessing how effective these drugs are in breaking down clots.

“Stroke, heart disease, cancer and infections give very dense blood clots which can break off and lodge in other parts of the body, causing complications or even death. They can be difficult to measure and treat effectively.

“Other conditions such as shock or major trauma can cause weak clotting so you can get problems due to excessive blood loss.

“If the clotting is abnormal, does it return to normal when the patient is treated or doesn’t the treatment affect it? Are there any drugs that will work better? This is what we are looking at.”

Following the NISCHR award in 2010 the unit undertook a research programme looking at seven diseases, which involved the recruitment of 1,300 patients.

That has just finished. And while the results are still being analysed, the early findings were encouraging enough for the unit to be given a £1.2 million Healthcare Impact Award by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Professor Evans said: “The grant is to assess the biomarkers we have developed and look at new biomarkers to improve health care.

“If you better assess the treatment you can reduce the difficulty of the disease. You can reduce the length of stay in hospital – and we may be able to save lives.”

Professor Rhodri Williams said: “This latest grant builds on a sustained track record of publication and successful funding applications by the team – including prestigious awards from the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering.

“It’s the second consecutive time our collaborative work has been given top priority for funding by an EPSRC panel.

“Our track record of leading-edge research was seen as a very significant aspect of our proposal.”

Karl Hawkins, Associate Professor with Swansea University’s College of Medicine, added:

“As an engineer, I have found it very stimulating bringing my expertise into the field of medicine, working alongside clinicians to benefit healthcare and, ultimately, patients.”


This is an Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University (ABMU) Health Board news release.